Zachary "Zack" Sawyer Kopplin (born July 20, 1993) is an American political activist, journalist, and television personality from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Kopplin has campaigned to keep creationism out of public school science classrooms and been involved with other

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...

causes. He has opposed school vouchers because they provide public money to schools which may teach creationism. As a high school student, he organized seventy-eight Nobel laureate scientists in a campaign against the Louisiana Science Education Act, a creationism law. He is also involved with science funding policy and curriculum and textbook policy. His new campaign calls for a launching Second Giant Leap for Humankind, calling for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

to invest $1 trillion in research and education. Kopplin has been interviewed on HBO's ''

Real Time with Bill Maher ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' is an American television talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series ''Politically Incorrect'' on Comedy Central and later on ABC, ''Real ...

'', where Bill Maher noted, on the show, that Kopplin was the youngest guest ever to appear on his show.

MSN.com MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95. The Microsoft Net ...

called Kopplin the Doogie Howser of political activists. Kopplin has been featured by numerous international media outlets that include ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', Mashable, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'',

io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

, '' Slate'', the '' Huffington Post'', '' Moyers and Company'',

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

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, and Public Radio International.

Personal life

Kopplin was born in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...

. His parents are Andrea D. Neighbours and Andy Kopplin, who is the first deputy mayor and chief administrative officer for the

City of New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

chief of staff for Governors

Murphy J. Foster, Jr. Murphy James Foster Jr. (July 11, 1930 – October 4, 2020) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 53rd governor of Louisiana from 1996 to 2004. Early life and career Murphy James Foster Jr. was born in Franklin, the se ...

and

Kathleen Blanco Kathleen Marie Blanco (née Babineaux; December 15, 1942 – August 18, 2019) was an American politician who served as the 54th Governor of Louisiana from January 2004 to January 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first and, ...

and founded the

Louisiana Recovery Authority The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) was the governmental body created in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita by Governor Kathleen Blanco to plan for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana. Under the leadership of the founding execut ...

under Blanco. Zack Kopplin graduated from

Baton Rouge Magnet High School Baton Rouge Magnet High School (BRMHS or Baton Rouge High) is a public magnet school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, founded in 1880. It is part of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System with a student body of approximately 1500 stude ...

in 2011 and from

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

in Houston, Texas in 2015. On NPR's

Science Friday ''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 400 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by award-wi ...

, Kopplin stated that he was born with

anosmia Anosmia, also known as smell blindness, is the loss of the ability to detect one or more smells. Anosmia may be temporary or permanent. It differs from hyposmia, which is a decreased sensitivity to some or all smells. Anosmia can be due to a nu ...

, meaning he does not have a sense of smell.

Education activism

Louisiana Science Education Act

As a senior at

, in Louisiana, he launched a campaign to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act, which has been described by the international science community as a creationism law. Kopplin ran his campaign through his RepealCreationism website. Kopplin joined with Louisiana State Senator Karen Carter Peterson, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party who sponsored two attempts to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act. Peterson vowed to keep sponsoring bills, “until we defeat this law.” With the help of Nobel laureate

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

Harry Kroto Sir Harold Walter Kroto (born Harold Walter Krotoschiner; 7 October 1939 – 30 April 2016), known as Harry Kroto, was an English chemist. He shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley for their discovery ...

, Kopplin gathered the support of 78 Nobel laureate scientists, who endorsed the repeal effort. The repeal is also supported by many other prominent scientists including Kenneth Miller. Kopplin gathered the support of major science organizations behind the repeal including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the largest science organization in the world with over 10 million members. He also gathered endorsements from the Clergy Letter Project and the

New Orleans City Council The New Orleans City Council is the legislative branch of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The current mayor-council form of city government was created in 1954, following the 1950 amendment of the state constitution that provide ...

Science textbooks

Kopplin played a major role in convincing the

Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is an administrative policy-making body for elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was created in the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention, called by ...

to adopt new

life science Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy t ...

textbooks. After the new textbooks were adopted, the ''Baton Rouge Advocate'' wrote an editorial calling the high school senior "the newest giant-killer in state education policy." Kopplin spearheaded a campaign to prevent attempts by Louisiana legislators to reverse the board's decision.

School vouchers

Kopplin has also played a role in the discussion over education reform in America. He has identified and exposed a number of the schools in Louisiana's school voucher program using creationist curricula or teaching creationism. Kopplin worked with MSNBC's '' Melissa Harris-Perry Show'' to expose over 300 creationist voucher schools nationwide.

Second Giant Leap

In 2013, Kopplin, along with Louisiana-based investigative journalist Lamar White, launched Second Giant Leap for Humankind, a political action committee which advocates for $1 trillion in new funding to be appropriated to scientific research and development and also an end to denialist legislation. Kopplin wrote an open letter to U.S. President

asking him to support the Second Giant Leap campaign. Kopplin debated ''Wall Street Journal'' editorial board member Stephen Moore on the return on investment for funding science while on HBO's ''

''. After Kopplin pointed out that Moore was not a scientist, when Moore questioned National Science Foundation grants, the clip was picked up by Upworthy and went viral.

Michele Bachmann

According to the ''Huffington Post'', Kopplin challenged Michele Bachmann to back up statements she made about Nobel laureate scientists supporting creationism. Kopplin made his challenge on the basis of the Nobel laureate scientists who supported his anti-creationism campaign. The New Orleans ''

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe sim ...

'' followed up on this question while she was in New Orleans.

Awards and recognition

Kopplin is the National Center for Science Education’s 2012 Friend of Darwin Award Winner with Judy Scotchmoor and also the winner of the 2012

Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award The Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award is an award created in honor of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. The Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards were established in 1979 to honor individuals who have made significant contributions in the vital effort ...

in Education. He is the second person to win both the Friend of Darwin Award and the Hefner First Amendment Award. New Orlean's ''

Gambit Weekly ''Gambit'' (formerly ''Gambit Weekly'') is a New Orleans, Louisiana-based free alternative weekly newspaper established in 1981. ''Gambit'' features reporting about local politics, news, food and drink, arts, music, film, events, environmental ...

'' named him the 38th largest newsmaker in New Orleans in 2011. The Houston Chronicle named Kopplin as one of the most fascinating people living in Houston. In 2014, Kopplin received the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's Howard Schachman Public Service Award and the LSU Manship School of Journalism's Courage and Justice Award. Kopplin even helped inspire a ''

Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, ...

'' cartoon about Louisiana’s law. Kopplin was named a Truthdigger of the Week in December 2012, by

Truthdig Truthdig is an American news website that provides a mix of long-form articles, blog items, curated links, interviews, arts criticism and commentary on current events delivered from a politically progressive, left-leaning point of view. The site of ...

, a progressive website. Kopplin is also a

Melissa Harris-Perry Melissa Victoria Harris-Perry (born October 2, 1973), formerly known as Melissa Victoria Harris-Lacewell, is an American writer, professor, television host, and political commentator with a focus on African-American politics. Harris-Perry hoste ...

"Foot Soldier", as reported on her show.

References

External links

* Moyers & Company
“Zack Kopplin: Keeping Creationism out of Public Classrooms”
* TEDxLSU Lectur
"The Cost of Teaching Creationism"
May 1, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kopplin, Zack 1993 births Living people Science activists American activists American skeptics People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Rice University people Rice University alumni Critics of creationism