Pictured: (L to R) Brandon Wimbush, ’15, Dr. John Carlos, and Clark Burnett, ’15
A panel of distinguished guests joined the Prep community on February 28 for a special PM in the AM (Prep Men in the Morning) session sponsored by Prep’s Ebony Club, our oldest cultural organization, which is currently celebrating their landmark 50th anniversary at Grand & Warren.
Olympic Medalist, civil rights activist, former track and field athlete, and USA Track & Field Hall of Fame member Dr. John Carlos joined two Prep alumni, Clark Burnett, ’15, former Ebony Club president, film director, and Yale graduate, and Brandon Wimbush, ’15, former Prep quarterback and co-founder of the company MOGL, to discuss their lives, careers, and achievements.
This assembly marked the culmination of the Ebony Club’s Black History Month programming, which strove to raise awareness and build community this February.
The event began with a welcome from Ms. Dalma Santana, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Director of Special Events. She introduced emcees Mr. William Springer, ’15 of the English Department and Ebony Club President Noah Willingham, ’24, who led the panelists in discussion.
“I’m not trying to be a leader as much as I’m trying to just set examples,” Dr. John Carlos said in his own opening words, speaking of how he strove to inspire within others the thought process that they too could be daring enough to “go beyond the realms of society.”
Carlos made international history at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City when he won the bronze medal in the 200 meters and displayed the Black Power salute on the podium alongside gold medalist Tommie Smith, a defining moment of civil rights activism.
“Being a leader takes initiative. It takes courage. And it takes sort of a personal investment in being the face of a certain decision,” Burnett added, noting the stakes inherent to Carlos’s own decision in 1968.
As an associate producer at Florentine Films, the production company founded by Ken Burns, Clark Burnett is currently working on the documentary Emancipation to Exodus, which will examine the Reconstruction Era from 1863 to the Great Migration, and is set to broadcast on PBS in 2027.
“I’ve been sort of invigorated and excited to work on this because I know that a lot of people will see it. Hopefully, students around the country will see it. I feel that it’s good for the world,” he said. “And not only is it an education in the better-known folks…but it’s also been a sort of an adventure and a practice in discovery, in reaching out to people and learning about their family histories, people who affected the Reconstruction Period on a local level.”
Burnett’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, and more, and he has received multiple accolades at festivals and beyond.
As quarterback of the 2014 state championship Marauder football team, Brandon Wimbush is Prep’s single-season passing yards leader, an Under Armour All-American, and a recipient of the Gatorade Player of the Year Award. Beyond Prep, he continued his athletic career at Notre Dame and the University of Central Florida and has since been recognized for his efforts as a young executive in the sports world. .
“I think Black Culture for me at this point in my life is helping the next generation of Black founders and Black athletes,” he said.
Wimbush’s company, MOGL, is a leading athlete influencer marketplace, connecting collegiate athletes with brands and helping those athletes harness the power of their own brands, images, and likenesses.
“We’ve been able to touch and work with over 25,000 athletes, generate over 10 million dollars to athletes. And it’s a journey that obviously started for me here [at Prep],” Wimbush said, noting that he finds empowering athletes to support their families, their communities, and charities particularly rewarding.
We thank all our guests for joining us at the day’s panel and sharing their stories and wisdom with our students.
The ongoing PM in the AM series of assemblies will continue to explore various other topics relevant to the formation of Jesuit high school students throughout the school year.