Arlo Washington, the subject of the compelling documentary “The Barber Of Little Rock,” drives through Arkansas’s capital city with a keen observer’s eye. As he navigates the streets, including past Little Rock Central High School – a site laden with history from the 1957 integration crisis – Washington’s voiceover introduces the driving force behind his life’s work: the pursuit of genuine economic justice. This search for opportunity, for real economic empowerment, is at the heart of this insightful film.
The directors, John Hoffman and Christine Turner, embarked on this project with a clear mission: to explore the pervasive issue of the racial wealth gap in America. Inspired by Mehrsa Baradaran’s book, “The Color of Money,” which meticulously details the enduring negative impacts of segregation and Jim Crow laws on Black communities, they sought to understand community development financial institutions (CDFIs). These institutions are dedicated to fostering economic growth within underserved areas. Their vision was to immerse themselves in a CDFI and witness firsthand both the stark realities of racial economic inequality and the inspiring efforts of individuals striving to bridge this divide. This path led them to Arlo Washington. As the directors explained, Washington was “a guy running a nonprofit loan fund out of a converted shipping container in the parking lot of his barber college.”
Arlo Washington: From Barber College to Economic Empowerment
In 2008, Washington established the Washington Barber College, an institution that has successfully trained and licensed fifteen hundred barbers to date, making a significant impact on individual livelihoods and the local economy. Building upon this foundation, in 2014, he founded People Trust, a nonprofit loan fund designed to serve those frequently excluded from traditional banking systems. People Trust offers crucial financial lifelines, providing loans for emergencies such as medical expenses, job loss, and housing insecurity, as well as supporting aspiring entrepreneurs in launching small businesses. Beyond loans, the organization’s website serves as a valuable resource hub, offering financial literacy education and practical tools like a children’s emergency savings guide.
Witnessing Economic Inequality and Resilience
“The Barber of Little Rock” intimately follows Washington’s daily life, capturing his interactions with students at the barber college and loan applicants at People Trust. The film presents poignant scenes, such as Washington guiding a middle-aged man through the basics of budgeting, a skill he lacked due to never having lived independently. In another powerful moment, a woman candidly shares the job-seeking barrier she faces: the lack of access to basic hygiene facilities, stating, “It’s hard because I don’t have nowhere to shower.” The documentary also introduces us to a woman managing three businesses while battling sickle cell disease, a pacemaker, and undergoing weekly treatment for a breast mass. Her unwavering resilience in the face of immense challenges is a testament to the spirit of the community. Throughout the film, viewers gain a profound understanding of the significant hardships faced by community members, alongside their remarkable strength, individuality, and resourcefulness.
Building Trust and Sharing Expertise
Filming spanned an entire year, accumulating over four hundred hours of footage. The directors emphasized the importance of trust in their filmmaking approach: “It’s a leap of faith every time you enter people’s lives with a camera. We don’t begin shooting unless and until we’ve established clear trust.” This trust deepened over time, enabling them to conduct formal interviews with barber college students and staff, as well as People Trust employees and loan recipients. These interview segments are thoughtfully integrated into “The Barber of Little Rock,” employing the same camera and lighting techniques typically reserved for expert interviews. This deliberate choice elevates the voices of the community members, presenting them with dignity and respect as they articulate their financial realities. Hoffman and Turner explained that this filming approach was intended to “gather expert opinions on the racial wealth gap from those living it.” Against a neutral backdrop and with warm, crisp lighting, interviewees respond to questions probing their understanding of concepts like “ownership” and the “American Dream.” Their responses reveal a shared history of limited opportunities and systemic barriers, highlighting the intergenerational impact of economic inequality.
The Legacy of Segregation in Little Rock
The documentary poignantly connects present-day economic disparities to Little Rock’s history of segregation. The integration of Little Rock schools, a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, occurred within living memory. The film subtly reminds viewers of the intense hostility faced by the Black students who bravely integrated Central High, facing violence and enduring profound stress. Decades prior, under the guise of “urban renewal,” Black residents were systematically pushed into specific areas of Little Rock. Redlining, a discriminatory lending practice, further restricted Black families’ access to homeownership in white neighborhoods, confining them to under-resourced areas with inadequate schools and limited basic amenities. As Little Rock Public Radio reports, geographical segregation in Little Rock neighborhoods is, in some ways, more pronounced today than it was seventy years ago. Driving through what he identifies as “the heart of the Black community,” Washington points out the stark realities: “There are no banks over here,” he states, emphasizing the population of thirty thousand residents in this banking desert. He contrasts this with the wealthier, predominantly white Heights neighborhood, noting, “Eight thousand in population, but you got fourteen banks. And you don’t see a boarded-up house. Not one.”
Acts of Resistance and Seeds of Hope
People Trust stands as the sole financial institution serving a redlined neighborhood in its operational area, and it holds the distinction of being the first Black-owned bank in Arkansas. Turner aptly describes Washington’s creation of People Trust as “an act of resistance.” A central theme of “The Barber of Little Rock” is this spirit of resistance – showcasing not only the hardships and injustices endured by Black residents of Little Rock but also their unwavering determination to overcome these obstacles and achieve success. Towards the film’s conclusion, we are reunited with Lyncola, a woman introduced earlier as she pursued her dream of opening a salon. In a heartwarming scene, Lyncola beams with pride in her graduation gown, Barber College diploma in hand. The documentary also highlights a man who secured a fifty-thousand-dollar loan to establish an auto shop, showcasing his progress in setting up his new business, finally realizing his dream of ownership. “The Barber of Little Rock” ultimately delivers a powerful message of resilience, hope, and the transformative potential of economic justice, embodied in the inspiring work of Arlo Washington and the community he serves.
