>> OUR CONVERSATION JUST BEFORE THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY.

>>> AND NOW, WE TURN TO THE RACIAL WEALTH GAP IN THE UNITED STATES.

"THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK" IS A SHORT DOCUMENTARY THAT FOLLOWING THE STORY OF ARLO WASHINGTON.

HE RUNS A BARBER COLLEGE IN ARKANSAS, AND A CREDIT UNION DEDICATED TO SERVING THE BLACK COMMUNITY.

THE FILM EXPOSES ISSUES OF SEGREGATION AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY THAT PERSIST TO THIS DAY.

AND MICHEL MARTIN SPOKE WITH WASHINGTON AND WITH JOHN HOFFMAN, ONE OF THE FILMMAKERS, SHORTLY AFTER THEY RECEIVED THE NEWS THAT THEIR FILM HAD BEEN NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR.

>> THANKS, CHRISTIANE.

JOHN HOFFMAN, ARLO WASHINGTON, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU.

>> OUR PLEASURE.

>> AND A CONGRATULATIONS ON THE OSCAR NOMINATION.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

>> MR. WASHINGTON, YOU HAVE BEEN A BARBER IN LITTLE ROCK, IN YOUR COMMUNITY, FOR, WHAT, GOSH, MORE THAN 20 YEARS.

BEFORE WE MOVE ON, I JUST -- I'M JUST NOT SURE EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT A BARBER IN SOME COMMUNITIES DOES.

COULD YOU JUST DESCRIBE FOR FOLKS WHO MAY NOT UNDERSTAND THIS, WHAT ROLE ABARBER CAN PLAY IN HIS COMMUNITY?

>> ABSOLUTELY.

THE BARBER IS THE CORNERSTONE OF THE BRICK BUILDING AND THE PILLAR OF THE COMMUNITY.

BASH BARBERS ARE ESSENTIAL.

BARBERS WERE HIGHLY ESTEEMED INDIVIDUALS IN THEIR COMMUNITY.

THEY DID THE TOOTH PULLING, THEY DID THE BLOOD LETTING.

WE HAVE DENTISTS AND DOCTORS BECAUSE OF THE BARBER PROFESSION.

IT'S ONE OF THE OLDEST AND MOST PRESTIGIOUS PROFESSIONS.

SO, BASH BARBERS ARE A MELTING POT, OR A COMMUNITY GATHERING, FOR PEOPLE NEEDING SERVICES.

>> BUT YOU -- YOU OPENED THE COMMUNITY'S FIRST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INCONSTITUTION, THIS IS BACK IN 2008.

YOU KNOW, BEING A BARBER IS NO SMALL THING.

RUNNING A BUSINESS IS NO SMALL THING.

RUNNING A BARBERING SCHOOL IS NO SMALL THING.

SO, HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA TO OPEN THIS FINANCIAL INSTITUTION?

>> WE EMERGED OUT OF UNMET CREDIT NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY.

IN 2009, ARKANSAS BECAME A CREDIT DESERT, WITH THE PROHIBITION OF PREDATORY PAYDAY LENDING, AND FROM THAT, WE BEGAN TO GET COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO COME AND ASK FOR LOANS.

AND THAT'S HOW WE STARTED, AND LIKE MOST SMALL BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, I STARTED IT OUT OF MY POCKET.

BEING A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER IN THE COMMUNITY, AND GROWING UP IN THE COMMUNITY, AND EXPERIENCING GENERATIONAL POVERTY MYSELF, I KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCESS TO CAPITAL, AND, YOU KNOW, BEING A BARBER IN THE COMMUNITY FOR SO LONG, AND PROVIDING SERVICES, BEING IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY, I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO SOLVE FOR AND CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE UNMET CREDIT NEEDS TO BE MET.

WHENEVER INDIVIDUALS WOULD COME TO THE BARBER SCHOOL AND INQUIRE ABOUT LOANS, WE WOULD PROVIDE THEM WITH SMALL DOLLAR SHORT-TERM LOANS TO BE ABLE TO MEET THEIR IMMEDIATE UNMET NEED.

AND IT GREW FROM THERE, FROM PROVIDING LOANS TO OUR STUDENT POPULATION, THOSE THAT WERE NEEDING WRAPAROUND SERVICES LIKE CHILD CARE, TRANSPORTATION, FOOD, SHELTER, PROVIDING THOSE SERVICES, BEING ABLE TO HELP THEM TO BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE PROGRAM.

WE SAW THERE WAS A MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT THAT JUST WASN'T AVAILABLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE -- AND I BEGAN TO DO SOME RESEARCH ON PREDATORY PAYDAY LOANS AND HOW PAYDAY LOANS WAS AFFECTING MY COMMUNITY, PUTTING INDIVIDUALS IN DEBT TRAPS, WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A SAFER ALTERNATIVE FOR OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT WOULD IMPACT THEIR CREDIT, HELP THEM TO BUILD AND GENERATE WEALTH.

>> MR. HOFFMAN, HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT MR. WASHINGTON'S WORK?

>> WELL, CHRISTINE TURNER, MY CODIRECTOR, WANTED TO MAKE A FILM ABOUT THE RACIAL WEALTH GAP, AND IN OUR SORT OF DEEP DIVE INTO THE PROBLEM, WE READ A BOOK CALLED "THE COLOR OF MONEY", WHICH IS A REMARKABLE BOOK ABOUT THE HISTORY OF BLACK BANKING SINCE RECONSTRUCTION AND HOW IT'S JUST A SERIES OF FAILURE AFTER FAILURE OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS.

BUT SHE SHE CALLS OUT A PROGRAM THAT WAS CREATED DURING THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, CDFIs, WHICH IS A PROGRAM RUN BY THE FED, THAT GETS CAPITAL INTO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, URBAN CENTERS, RURAL COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE CLINTON UNDERSTOOD THAT IF PEOPLE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO CAPITAL, THEY CAN'T BUILD SMALL BUSINESSES THEY CAN'T GET LOANS FOR THEIR CARS OR FOR THEIR HOMES, THEIR FARMS.

SO I WAS POINTED TO A CONVERSATION BETWEEN BILL CLINTON, DURING COVID, AND A WOMAN NAMED DONNA GAGAMBRELL, THE FIRST HEAD OF THIS ORGANIZATION.

AND I REACHED OUT TO HER.

SHE'S NOW THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK BANKERS.

AND I SAID, DONNA, WE WANT TO IMBED IN ONE OF THESE CDFIs, ONE OF THESE HIGH TOUCH LOAN INSTITUTIONS IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND LIVE THERE FOR A YEAR, AND FOLLOW THE MONEY, SEE HOW ACCESS TO CAPITAL CAN TRANSFORM PEOPLE'S LIVES.

BY CREATING OPPORTUNITIES.

AND SO, SHE SAID, THERE'S THIS GUY IN LITTLE ROCK, HIS NAME IS ARLO WASHINGTON, AND HE HAS A BARBER COLLEGE, AND HE HAS A SHIPPING CONTAINER IN THE PARKING LOT OF HIS BARBER COLLEGE AND IT IS THIS CDFI.

AND WE WERE LIKE, WE HAVE TO GO TO ARLO.

THAT'S HOW IT HAPPENED.

>> PEOPLE ARE SHARING SOME OF THEIR DEEPEST WOUNDS, AND I -- MR. WASHINGTON, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU CERTAINLY HAVE TO KNOW THAT, RIGHT?

AND I WAS JUST WONDERING IF IT WAS HARD TO KIND OF PERSUADE PEOPLE THAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS WAS NOT TO KIND OF MAKE FUN OF PEOPLE OR -- >> RIGHT.

>> LOOK DOWN ON THEM, BUT TO ELEVATE THE WORK.

>> ABSOLUTELY.

OF COURSE WHEN YOU HAVE A TALK ABOUT MONEY AND NEED, THAT'S A VERY SENSITIVE SUBJECT THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE WITH, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE ON THE RECEIVING END OF IT, AND TELLING THEIR STORIES IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW -- THESE WERE VERY AUTHENTIC AND ORGANIC, AND THEY WERE IN NEED, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE, IF YOU'RE IN NEED, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT WHO IS WATCHING OR WHAT'S GOING ON.

YOU JUST KNOW THAT YOU NEED YOUR LIGHT BILL PAID, YOU NEED HELP WITH YOUR RENT, BECAUSE YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE EVICTED OR YOU ARE HOMELESS AND YOU NEED TO BE PLACED.

AND LIFE IS HAPPENING, IT'S A CRISIS.

THIS IS A GRANT, JUST AN EMERGENCY GRANT, YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY CLOTHES, YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY TRANSPORTATION.

EVERYTHING BURNT UP.

>> FOR 17 DAYS IN A HOTEL.

MAN.

>> THERE YOU GO.

HOW MUCH IS THE WEEKLY RENT?

>> THE WEEKLY RUNT?

>> UH-HUH.

>> IT'S NOT WEEKLY.

SHE WAS GOING TO CHARGE ME $545 A MONTH.

>> MY MOTHER PASSED AWAY WITH CANCER, AND SO, I'M JUST THINKING, SINCE YOU, YOU KNOW, IN THAT SITUATION, MAYBE IF WE WAS ABLE TO DO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A GRANT FOR A MONTH, THAT WOULD GIVE YOU TIME TO FIND A PLACE, HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WORKS?

>> THAT WOULD HELP ME.

>> I THINK THAT WILL HELP.

WHAT YOU THINK?

>> IT WOULD HELP ME A LOT.

>> MR. HOFFMAN, I WAS JUST CURIOUS, YOU ARE COMING TO THIS, BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO UNDERSTAND THIS ISSUE MORE, THIS IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES BEING HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AND UNDERSERVED TO THIS DAY.

THERE THINGS IN THE COURSE OF YOUR REPORTING THAT SURPRISED EVEN YOU OR THAT REALLY STAY WITH YOU, EVEN NOW?

>> I THINK THAT THE RACIAL DIVIDE AND THE ECONOMIC DIVIDE IN LITTLE ROCK, AND THE EXTENT OF IT, REALLY CHALLENGED ME AND MY UNDERSTANDING ABOUT CITIES IN AMERICA IN 2022 AND 2023 WHEN WE WERE MAKING THIS FILM.

YOU KNOW, THE TWO SIDES OF LITTLE ROCK ARE DIVIDED BY AN INTERSTATE, AND THAT -- THE EFFECTS OF RED-LINING ARE STILL BEING FELT.

THERE ARE -- THERE ARE STRONG REVERBERATIONS OF RED-LINING THAT ARE STILL AT WORK, AT PLAY, IN OUR AMERICAN CITIES.

IT'S NOT JUST LITTLE ROCK, IT'S CITIES ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY.

SO, ARLO AND SCOTT GREEN, WHO HAPPENS TO BE THE NEPHEW OF EARNEST GREEN, FELL ON THIS TOUR OF THE 12th STREET CORRIDOR, WHICH IS A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL IS, WHICH, PRIOR TO INTEGRATION, WAS, YOU KNOW, A WEALTHY, WHITE NEIGHBORHOOD.

YOU SEE THESE ENORMOUS HOMES, BEAUTIFUL, OLD HOMES, ABANDONED, BOARDED UP.

TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS LACK OF OPPORTUNITY.

THERE'S NOT AN ATM, YOU KNOW, FOR LITERALLY MILES FOR THE COMMUNITY.

AND THE FILM EXPLORES THAT AND PORTRAYS THAT.

ARLO AND SCOTT GREEN DRIVE ACROSS THE INTERSTATE, THE WHITE FLIGHT AFTER INTEGRATION, LEFT LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL NEIGHBOR, YOU KNOW, BEREFT OF OPPORTUNITY.

AND THEY GO LITERALLY ACROSS THE HIGHWAY TO A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE THERE ARE 14 BANKS SERVING ONLY 8,000 PEOPLE, WHERE THERE'S ZERO BANKS SERVING 30,000 BLACK MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.

ZERO.

AND SO, WHAT ARLO IS DOING AND THE CDFI PROGRAM THAT HE HAS CREATED, YOU SEE THAT IT IS HAVING A MEASURABLE IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF PEOPLE IN LITTLE ROCK.

AND IT'S NOT JUST A FEW LIVES.

IT'S THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT ARLO IS IMPACTING.

HE'S CREATING JOBS.

AND HE SPEAKS ABOUT THAT IN THE FILM.

THAT YOU HAVE TO -- YOU CAN'T DEVELOP THE COMMUNITY UNLESS YOU DEVELOP THE PEOPLE.

SO -- AND YOU CAN'T DEVELOP THE PEOPLE UNLESS THEY HAVE ACCESS TO CAPITAL.

>> MR. WASHINGTON, WHAT'S THE AVERAGE LOAN, AND WHAT'S THE REPAYMENT RATE?

>> RIGHT, THE AVERAGE LOAN IS ANYWHERE FROM $500 TO $2,500.

AND THE REPAYMENT IS ABOUT -- OUR DEFAULT RATE IS ABOUT 6%.

>> 6%?

>> YES.

>> SO, THAT MEANS THAT -- >> TODAY.

TODAY.

>> 94% OF THE PEOPLE PAY THE LOANS BACK?

>> YES.

>> SO, THE ARGUMENT, MR. WASHINGTON, THAT THE BIG BANKS MAKE ABOUT WHY THEY DON'T SERVE THAT COMMUNITY IS THEY FIGURE PEOPLE ARE POOR AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO PAY THE LOANS BACK.

BUT PEOPLE DO PAY YOUR LOANS BACK.

>> YEAH, I MEAN, SO, WE HAVE DIFFERENT LOAN PRODUCTS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE -- AND OUR PRODUCT, OUR LOAN PRODUCTS MEET COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHERE THEY ARE ON THEIR FINANCIAL JOURNEY.

WE ALSO PROVIDE DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES, AS WELL, LIKE FINANCIAL LITERACY AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.

BUT THE MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT HERE IS THE SMALL DOLLAR LOAN, THE CONSUMER LOAN, BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE GAPS THAT INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCE, IT'S THAT SHORT-TERM FUNDING OPPORTUNITY THAT KEEPS THEIR -- KEEPS THEIR CREDIT IN GOOD, HEALTHY SHAPE.

KEEPS THEIR, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO STAY IN THEIR HOME OR KEEP THEIR CAR.

AND -- BUT LIFE, CIRCUMSTANCES HAPPEN, AND SO PAYDAY LENDERS, PREDATORY PAYDAY LENDERS, YOU KNOW, ARE RIGHT THERE AT THE DOOR TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE CAPITAL THAT A TRADITIONAL BANK JUST SIMPLY WON'T PROVIDE Z BECAUSE OF IT BEING SUCH A SMALL DEAL.

BUT THIS IS A TRILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY, AS WELL, SO, EVEN THOUGH IT'S PREDATORY TO SOME PEOPLE, IT'S HELPFUL TO PEOPLE WHO CAN'T GET HELP ANYWHERE ELSE.

SO, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING THAT MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT HERE IN ARKANSAS, WITH IT BEING THE ONLY STATE THAT WAS BLACKED OUT FOR AWHILE WITH THE 17% RATE CAP, IS WHAT, YOU KNOW, STILL IS WHAT CREATED THE INTERIOR COUNTIES BEINGAL CREDIT DESERT.

COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE DRIVING TO BORDER STATES TO ET BE LOANS OR GOING ONLINE AND STILL ACCESSING THESE PREDATORY PAYDAY LOANS, MERCHANT CASH ADVANCES FOR THEIR BUSINESS, AND THERE WAS AN UNMET CREDIT NEED THAT JUST WASN'T BEING FILLED FOR THOSE LOANS THAT WERE $50,000 AND LESS.

>> WE SAW IN THE FILM THAT INITIALLY, YOU WERE FUNDING THESE LOANS OUT OF YOUR OWN POCKET, JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE YOU KNEW ASKED YOU.

HOW DO YOU FUND IT NOW?

>> IT'S FUNDED NOW THROUGH GRANTS AND LOANS.

LOW-COST, LONG-TERM LOANS.

CDFIs, THE MODEL OF CDFIs IS, IS DEBT CAPITAL.

A LOT OF IT IS DEBT CAPITAL.

SO, WE BORROW MONEY AT A LOWER RATE AND THEN WE RELEND IT AT A HIGHER RATE, CDFIs ARE SPREAD LEPDERS, SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S -- WHEN IT FIRST STARTED, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THAT, I JUST WANTED TO HELP, AND BE A RESOURCE.

AND WE WERE RESTRICTED ON THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO DEPLOY, OR THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO LEND EACH MONTH, YOU KNOW?

I WOULD -- I SET ASIDE $1,000 OUT OF MY PAYCHECK AND I WOULD MAKE $250 LOANS AT 5% FOR, YOU KNOW, SIX-MONTH TERMS.

OF COURSE, THAT WASN'T SUSTAINABLE, IT WASN'T PROFITABLE, AND IT WASN'T SCALEABLE.

WE GOT MORE SOPHISTICATED AS WE BEGAN TO GROW AND BUILD CAPACITY.

>> MR. HOFFMAN, I THINK THERE ARE SOMETHING LIKE, WHAT, 1,500 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY.

THAT'S STILL NOT A LOT, COMPARED TO THE NUMBER OF PLACES WHERE PEOPLE ARE UNBANKED, OR MINIMALLY BANKED, OR WHO ARE RELYING ON PAYDAY LOANS.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT THERE AREN'T MORE OF THESE?

>> WELL, THERE AREN'T MORE BECAUSE THE CONGRESS HAS ONLY ALLOCATED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY.

SO, YOU COULD DOUBLE, YOU COULD TRIPLE, YOU COULD QUADRUPLE THE CDFI PROGRAM AND YOU WOULD STILL HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF UNMET NEED OUT THERE.

BUT AS IT'S CONCEIVED, IT IS WORKING, CONCEPTIONALLY, SO, AGAIN, CREDIT BACK TO BILL CLINTON FOR, YOU KNOW, SEEING THAT, THAT THERE WAS AN UNMET CREDIT NEED IN THIS COUNTRY AND IT'S KEEPING COMMUNITIES DOWN.

AND SO, IT'S ABOUT $10 BILLION A YEAR RIGHT NOW IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, IT'SED A MINISTERED BY THE FED.

THIS IS $10 BILLION THAT'S GOING OUT AND ARLO GETS A LITTLE PIECE OF THAT AND HE'S ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE THAT MONEY TO CHANGE PEOPLE'S LIVES.

SO, IF THE PROGRAM, IF CONGRESS DECIDED TO DOUBLE OR TRIPLE IT, THERE WOULD BE THAT MUCH MORE MONEY THAT PEOPLE LIKE ARLO COULD BE, YOU KNOW, LOANING OUT, AND CHANGING MORE PEOPLE'S LIVES.

>> DO YOU THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE WILL SEE IN THE FILM IS THAT GETTING A LOAN FROM YOUR INSTITUTION, IT'S KIND OF A DIFFERENT PROCESS.

>> YOU'RE SAYING YOU INTERESTED IN A LOAN?

>> YES, MA'AM.

>> OKAY.

TELL ME ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH YOUR BUSINESSES?

>> I DO CREDIT RESTORATION, I ALSO HAVE A T-SHIRT AND DECAL LINE.

>> OKAY.

>> DUE TO THE THINGS THAT I DEAL WITH IN LIFE, SUCH AS SICKLE CELL, HAVING A PACEMAKER, HAVING 80% MASS IN MY RIGHT BREAST, GOING TO TREATMENT ONCE A WEEK -- >> AND YOU STILL RUN THREE BUSINESSES?

>> YES, MA'AM.

>> I HEARD THAT NOW.

>> DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR STAFF, YOUR EMPLOYEES HAVE SORT OF A SPECIAL SAUCE, OR A WAY THEY DEAL WITH PEOPLE OR SEE PEOPLE OR EVALUATE PEOPLE?

>> I WOULD SAY, IT'S THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S HELD COMMUNITIES BACK, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOST PART, IS FEAR AND INSECURITY OF DEALING WITH A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, BECAUSE UNBANKED AND UNDERBANKED POPULATIONS IS JUST NOT USED TO IT.

AND IT CAN BE INTIMIDATING, WHEN YOU, YOU KNOW, ARE NOT TREATED WITH THE SAME DIGNITY AND RESPECT THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR WHITE COUNTERPARTS EXPERIENCE.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE -- YOU THINK ABOUT THE HISTORIC, YOU KNOW, ABANDONMENT OF BANKS FROM LOW AND MODERATE INCOME COMMUNITIES, AND JUST THE GENERATIONAL POVERTY THAT'S CAUSED FROM THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A MENTALITY.

SO, I WOULD SAY THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCE.

>> AND MR. HOFFMAN, LET ME ASK YOU, BEFORE WE LET YOU GO, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE OF MAKING THIS FILM THAT HAS CHANGED YOU IN SOME WAY?

>> I LOVED MAKING THIS FILM.

I THINK THAT, FOR ME TO BE WELCOMED IN, A WHITE MAN, AN OLDER WHITE MAN WITH WHITE HAIR, TO BE WELCOMED INTO -- BY ARLO AND TO ALL THESE COMMUNITIES THAT HE'S APART OF, WHETHER IT'S IN THE BARBER COLLEGE, IN THE SHIPPING CONTAINER, IN THE OTHER BANK BRANCH, AND TO DEVELOP THESE FRIENDSHIPS WITH PEOPLE WHO WILL FOREVER BE IN MY LIFE, AND TO REALLY HAVE THE -- THE TRUST EXTENDED TO ME IN PARTICULAR, AND HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, A DEEP -- A DEEPLY EFFECTIVE EXPERIENCE, AND A TREASURED ONE.

>> AND MR. WASHINGTON, WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU?

WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?

>> YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MISSION.

WITH ME.

AT THIS POINT, STAYING TRUE TO THE MISSION.

AND CLOSING THE WEALTH GAP IN AMERICA.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE -- WE NOW HAVE A FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, WE NOW ARE TAKING DEPOSITS, SO, WE ARE TAKING A WHOLISTIC APPROACH TO CLOSING THE WEALTH GAP.

WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, FINANCIAL LITERACY WITH THE LOAN FUND, WITH THE CREDIT UNION, WE'RE ABLE TO TEACH ABOUT INVESTING AND SAVING AND ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO YOUR FINANCIAL STABILITY.

WHETHER YOU'RE NEEDING TO GAIN OR REGAIN ECONOMIC MOBILITY, JUST BEING A RESOURCE AND A CONDUIT OF RESOURCES, AND ENSURING THE FEDERAL PROGRAMS OR INVESTMENTS THAT ARE MADE TO GET TO THE -- MEANT TO GET TO THE COMMUNITY, GET THERE.

YOU KNOW, THAT'S MY LIFE'S WORK, YOU KNOW, I CONSIDER IT GOD'S WORK, I CONSIDER IT AN HONOR AND A PREF LEDGE SO SERVE.

>> ALL RIGHT, ARLO WASHINGTON, JOHN HOFFMAN, THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR TALKING WITH US TODAY AND CONGRATULATIOS ONCE AGAIN.

>> THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.