(dir. John Hoffman and Christine Turner, 2023, 35 min)

The Barber of Little Rock follows the story of Arlo Washington, a local barber with a mission to create a more just economy. Aware of the mistrust of financial institutions that have historically excluded his community from financial stability and economic mobility, he founds People Trust, a nonprofit community bank. The only bank that operates within a 10-mile radius, People Trust offers economic progress for underbanked residents, and serves as a model for the future of banking. This short film will be followed by a roundtable discussion, and is presented in dialogue with this year’s community read, Matthew Desmond’s Poverty, By America.

This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty, the Office of the Dean of Students, the FSEM program, the Residential Commons, the Africana and Latin American Studies program, and Core Communities.