SAN FRANCISCO , California ( CNN ) -- A 100-inch , high definition screen projects an intense college basketball game . Massage therapists rub the nervous tensions of men and women away . Scissors skillfully cut men 's hair . Two chandeliers adorn the main room , complimented by brick walls and a glass bar that doubles as a retail counter . Sean Heywood , right , and Kumi Walker own MR. , a barbershop and wine bar in San Francisco , California . This is not your typical barbershop . And that has always been the vision of owners Kumi Walker and Sean Heywood . `` We are literally trying to create a new version of the country club golf experience . But we 're replacing golf with haircuts , and we 're putting it in urban environments , '' says Heywood . MR. ( for mister ) is their first business venture . It 's an upscale barbershop , wine bar and lounge in the financial district of San Francisco where memberships cost $ 65 to $ 250 a month . In addition to the basic services , those who become members benefit from exclusive services like golf putting clinics and human resource workshops . `` We 're trying to thrive , not just survive , '' Heywood said . MR. takes the cultural aspect of the black barbershop experience and modernizes it , making it a place where businesspeople of all races can network . `` We looked at our social lives , and we had black friends , Asian friends , Latino friends , white friends . We would do a lot of things socially together , but when it came to getting our hair cut , we would all split up , '' Walker says . Watch Walker talk about the difficulty of starting and running a business » . The two entrepreneurs are bridging a cultural divide , and also giving back to the community . They offer free lifetime memberships to MR. to those in good standing with a re-entry program called Back on Track . Among other things , Back on Track offers first-time , low-level criminal offenders GED preparation , tutoring , money-management instruction and job training and placement . And that 's where MR. steps in . The membership provides them with one free haircut , trim , and shoeshine monthly . `` We 'll take care of their grooming so that they do n't have to . And they 're ready for all the different jobs that they pursue going forward , '' Walker says . Giving back is paramount for the entrepreneurs . And the story of one black business district in Tulsa , Oklahoma , inspires them . It was known as Black Wall Street , and it was destroyed in a race riot and fire 88 years ago . `` All of the businesses that we wanted to create , we wanted to encompass the culture of , if that community still existed today , what it would look like , '' says Walker , who says he read about the riot six years ago . Imagine a credit union , a barbershop , a library , and men in freshly pressed suits with top hats sauntering on sidewalks . The melodic sounds of jazz flow into the streets from several nightclubs . A thriving community of black-owned businesses serve their clientele across a 42-block area . That was the community that existed in the segregated neighborhood of Greenwood from 1830 to 1921 . But on the evening of May 31 , 1921 , white mobs entered Greenwood with torches and guns . Black residents gathered to protect a young man accused of assaulting a white woman . When the smoke from fires cleared on June 1 , more than 1,000 homes , businesses and other institutions were burned or destroyed , according to the report of the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 . `` People came and said , 'Run , they are shooting people , ' `` says Wess Young , who was 4 then . `` We evacuated . They were destroying everything . '' The death toll has been debated for years , because many victims were dumped in mass graves . An American Red Cross estimate puts the total at 300 , much higher than the 36 reported by local officials . The riot devastated the social underpinnings of the Greenwood community and leveled a black economic force . Greenwood was rebuilt , but it never recovered . `` It was a really tragic end to thriving businesses . I think we 'd be a lot further ahead had that area been able to continue to thrive , '' says Walker . Wess Young and his family rebuilt their lives in Tulsa . When asked what he thought America would be like if the Tulsa race riot had not happened , he answers without hesitation , `` We would have had a black president before now . ... He has done a good job , but we [ blacks are ] still in a box . '' His advice to people is to let go of the past once they 've learned from it . `` Hate will destroy your whole universe -- got to learn how to forgive , but never forget , '' Young says . Walker says these stories of black struggle and survival motivate him . `` I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors , '' he says . `` I just want to be as successful as possible so I can turn around and be mentors and sponsors to other people who come after me . ''
Entrepreneur read about famed Black Wall Street that was destroyed in 1921 . Comment: Black Wall Street burned to ground during massive race riot in Tulsa , Oklahoma . Tulsa race riot survivor : `` Learn how to forgive , but never forget ''