On a Monday afternoon at The Victoria in Harlem, just two days after the Superfine Harlem photo shoot, four Black men gathered for a powerful continuation of The Quintessential Gentleman feature.
What unfolded was more than just a conversation; it was a personal exchange on legacy, collaboration, and the real work it takes to be a Black man thriving in America today.
The roundtable featured Eric Keith, Editor-in-Chief and Founder of The Quintessential Gentleman; Silas Cooper, star of Bravo’s Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard; John Powell, Lifestyle Curator; and Dr. Kells Barnett, Harlem native, fashion designer, and founder of the iconic 5001 Flavors.
Harlem Is More Than a Place—It’s a State of Mind
The discussion opened with a simple but loaded question from Eric: “What does Harlem mean to you?”
For Barnett, Harlem is both personal and historical. “Whether or not I was born and raised in Harlem, I would realize and recognize the importance of Harlem,” he shared. “As far as the Black experience, it’s still well and thriving today, even with gentrification… Harlem to me is home. Home to me is legacy. It’s happiness.”
Barnett’s reflections tapped into Harlem’s pulse, both nostalgic and current. He passionately spoke on how the media focuses on gentrification but ignores the abundance of Black and woman-owned businesses thriving within the community.
“Don’t pay attention to gentrification. That comes and goes. Pay attention to what you want in your neighborhood,” he said. “I love everything about Harlem—from the ratchet to the unratchet.”
Keith followed with his own memory of Harlem.
“You know what’s crazy? I literally started The Quintessential Gentleman in Harlem…135th and St. Nicholas,” he said. He described Harlem as the origin of his entrepreneurial journey and credited New York’s hustle culture for shaping his work ethic.
“This campaign, this conversation that we have, this cover—it’s just amazing to me.”
Cooper, whose family is West African while he was raised in Brooklyn, recalled the allure of Harlem from a young age. When we got tired of hanging out and wanted to do something different, something different wasn’t going off on a vacation to Florida—it was like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna take the train uptown.'”
Harlem is where Cooper can find his favorite things.
“If you want some of the best chicken suya, you want oxtail,” he shared. “You want live music performances, Shrine’s right still over there…That’s what Harlem is.”
Powell had more of a literary and spiritual perspective on the meaning of Harlem. “When I think of Harlem, immediately, I’m going to Ralph Ellison and I imagine the streets that I read about in Invisible Man and all those different works,” he said. “When I walked down the street, I go from Ralph Ellison to Spike Lee, and I’m just accosted by the legacy, by the voices that just call out. It’s just a rich heritage for African Americans that we can trace.”
The Power of Showing Up and Sharing Knowledge
Throughout the conversation, the gentlemen spoke about the challenges of entrepreneurship and the importance of creating pathways for others.
Keith shared that for many Black entrepreneurs, there isn’t a blueprint. “I’m literally figuring this out every day by myself in real-time,” he said.
Barnett responded by lifting the veil on his own business practices. Despite holding a Master’s degree in business, he said, “I don’t do business plans. All of my businesses, I literally start and figure it out.”
He also championed mentorship and the importance of sharing knowledge. “I don’t gatekeep,” Barnett stated. “If I can give you information and you take that information and soar and you’re more successful than me, then I’ve done my job.”
The conversation emphasized that collaboration isn’t just an ideal, it’s a survival tactic. Keith acknowledged that in past generations, there was a perception that only one Black man could succeed at a time.
“It was survival. It’s not that I don’t want you to be great; I’m afraid of you taking my spot. And then what am I going to do?” he said. “But now, we’re in a space where we all can do it.”
Powell echoed the same urgency. “Collaboration is the currency of today,” he said. “If we’re going to be fluid and if we’re going to be successful, you’re going to have to learn collaboration, which deals with security, not being insecure of what you’re doing, not being insecure of sharing.”
Reimagining Brotherhood and Building Foundations
Silas, who brought a military perspective to the conversation, emphasized structure and accountability. “Your foundation needs to be solid if you want to ascend,” he said. “The Black family is that foundation.”
“Part of that togetherness was the black family. The father figures in the neighborhood, where you didn’t have to be a dad to be a father to someone. You didn’t have to be related to be a mentor. There were shared resources. There were communities. I think part of that is understanding our power as Black men is that we’re still sought after for leadership.”
Barnett took that thought even further, saying, “Black men need to say what they need.” He talked about the lost art of casual conversations and networking within the community. “Every business opportunity I’ve had came from talking to someone casually. That’s our golf course. That’s where deals are made.”
He added, “We forget to use our network like parallel. We always want to move up. But the people you need are right there.”
“We were more unified when we were segregated,” Keith said, prompting Powell to challenge the idea with nuance. “We were creating. Our own portals of resources. Now, yes, it takes. It takes us a while. But that time is crucial,” Powell noted.
Barnett made an interesting point: “You could give 10 Black men the same opportunity. Two are going to thrive. Six are going to do okay. And the rest aren’t going to care.” It wasn’t judgment, but realism.
“My point is some people don’t want better for their life, and that’s not saying anything bad or wrong about them, but it just is what it is,” Barnett added.
Winning While Black in America
To wrap up the discussion, Keith posed one final question: How do Black men win in America today?
Cooper said it starts with leadership and mentorship. “Let’s lead again. Let’s not shy away from leadership,” he shared. “We’re great entrepreneurs, we’re businessmen, we’re cultivators, we’re founders…so we have to give back, be present to mentor our youth and build our foundation.”
Barnett added, “Black men, we just need to speak about what we want, but you also got to tell people what you do in life.”
Powell speaks more on collaboration: “You cannot assume that two men born in Harlem come from the same experience. We don’t. Because it’s not the same. We always make that assumption,” he said. “But the collaboration of the two creates a new currency that we both can eat from. So I think for Black men, really embracing collaboration and finding the safety, there’s enough out here.”
Keith closed with a powerful reminder: “Black men need to support each other. That’s it. I called each of you and you showed up. We made this conversation happen.”
Check out the full conversation below.
Photographer: J. Monroe of Monroe Media
Photo Shoot Coordinator: Christopher Leon
