Every Single Social Media Link for Lizzo’s Featured Activists in One Place

On December 6th. pop star Lizzo accepted the “People’s Champion Award” at the People’s Choice Awards 2022. But she did something very unique and special with her time on camera for her acceptance speech. She immediately switched the focus of the night off of her and onto the accomplishments of 17 activists, who she brought with her on stage. One by one, she introduced and proclaimed why their work was important. You can watch the full speech …Read More

Choosing Violence: On Allyship and the Legacy of John Brown

Something that hasn’t been explored a lot on this blog is historical figures in the social justice world. There is a lot to be learned in the accomplishments of activists of the past, as well as in the present day reactions to these activists’ legacy. Denny Upkins is back with a look at the historical figure John Brown and the importance of facing oppression head-on, without compromise.  CN: Detailed discussion of racial violence and discrimination, …Read More

Why Understanding Abuse & Trauma is Necessary for Social Justice Work

CN: disturbing statistics regarding intimate partner violence, extensive discussion of the impact of abuse, trauma, marginalization and the intersection of all three; brief discussion of trauma-based mental illnesses, and oppression as a result of race, LGBT status, socio-economic background, and/or physical/mental ability.  The focus of Yopp has always been to discuss all things related to social justice and civil rights. But another important topic that emerged fairly early on was issues related to abuse and …Read More

The Practice of Allyship

This blog post was originally published as a subscriber-only article entitled “Yopp’s Guide to Being an Awesome Ally,” at the beginning of January 2020. I decided to share it more widely because it was such valuable information and I also updated it as my opinions and understanding of allyship had shifted over the years.  CN: broad discussion of oppression I once saw a post from someone somewhat new to social activism saying he wished there …Read More

A Tale to Tell: A Cherie Priest Tribute

Just a few months ago I re-published my article, “Creating Social Change One Person at a Time,” in which I talked about how the impact you have on individual people around you can, in itself, be a form of social activism. Denny Upkins is back to demonstrate exactly how this phenomenon can happen and the ripple effect it can create.  CN: general discussion of racism and homophobia An author by the name of J.D. Stroube …Read More

A Gay Man’s Guide To Life: An Interview with Britt East

CN: discussion of racism, homophobia, transphobia, and explicit violence toward the LGBT community– especially transgender folks; mention of abuse, AIDS epidemic, and addiction.  One of the things I love about having Denny Upkins as a guest writer is he has some connections with amazing people and he takes great joy in interviewing them for Yopp! I’ll let Denny introduce today’s interview. Upon Yopp’s return from hiatus, I knew there were a number of intriguing and …Read More

Creating Social Change One Person at a Time

Do you remember a time when you were a child and an adult in your life changed something in you for the rest of your life? Maybe they were the only person who believed in your ability to achieve your dreams. Maybe they taught you kindness and compassion towards the people you found difficult to forgive. Maybe they saw you for who you were and reflected you as good and valuable when no one else had before. Even just a small word of encouragement can be important enough to us at that age that we remember it for decades. That person that helped you probably has no idea that they affected you so much, even if that impact lasted a lifetime. What if you could be that person for someone else? 

What if you could be that person for dozens of people? Or hundreds? Imagine the reverberations of your actions throughout the world as each of those people carry that change with them through life.