Happy Birthday to an author, educator, feminist, and social justice activist! On this day (January 26) in 1944, Angela Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama.

From a young age Angela was witness to tension between differing racial groups. She grew up in a neighborhood nicknamed “Dynamite Hill” because white neighbors bombed their black neighbors homes in an effort to drive them from the neighborhood. This was in the late 1940’s.

Angela’s father instilled in her that the opposition between races was not predetermined. Later, Angela would become an educator make others aware of the lessons she was taught by her father. Both of her parents worked as teachers.

She attended college at Bradeis University in Massachusetts on a scholarship. She was only one of three black students in her class. During her studies she traveled to foreign countries including France, Switzerland, and Finland to expand her knowledge. She studied French and graduated with honors.

After college, she attended more school in Germany and went on to get a doctorate degree in philosophy from Humboldt University in California.

Angela identified with the Communist Party USA and the Black Panther Party (another communist group). Her identification with these groups got her fired from her job as a professor at the University of California, Los Angelos (UCLA). She took legal action and eventually got her job back.

She ran for Vice President in 1980 and 1984 as a communist. In the early 1990’s she stopped identifying herself as a communist and moved toward reformism.

She has taught at Universities all across the United States and is the author of eight books with themes ranging from feminism, communism, race, and culture. Her most recent work is on the American prison system, which she believes is deeply flawed. She believes that people who are affected by poverty and racial discrimination are unfairly generalized as criminals. Her movement is to abolish prison systems. What do you think the world would be like if there were no prisons? Tell me in Shout Out, in “The Great Debate” message board. Look for the post: The World without Prisons?

Love, Luna

Although we usually focus on celebrating girls and women, today we’re celebrating an important man who worked for equality.  Many schools and businesses in the U.S. are closed today, January 18, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist Minister and civil rights leader in the 1960s. Although he mainly fought for an end to segregation* between Blacks and Whites, he also spoke out against the Vietnam War. He didn’t believe in using violence to achieve equality, and he was the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He staged peaceful protests and gave speeches to move civil rights forward.

In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated (murdered). However, his legacy stays alive, and he is one of only four individuals who has a national holiday dedicated to him in the U.S. Although some politicians were against creating a holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr., Congress and President Regan passed the holiday after receiving a petition with six million names—the longest petition ever. Now, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January, which falls near Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on January 15.

Although Martin Luther King is officially honored with this day, many women were deeply involved in the civil rights movement as well. Some people credit Rosa Parks, a woman who refused to give up her seat on the bus for a White passenger, with starting the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, took over leadership of the movement after he died and was also a leader in the women’s rights movement. She fought for human rights until she died in 2006.

Will you be doing something special to observe Martin Luther King’s legacy? What steps for equality have we achieved? What do we still have left to do? Leave a comment to share your thoughts!

Love,

Luna

* Segregation – Blacks and Whites being separated in public places, such as having “Whites Only” or “Blacks Only” sections in restaurants or in buses.

New Moon Girls are passionate about equality! Check out these creations about the Civil Rights Movement

Rose Parks by Fiona Moon

My BFFE’s and Rosa Parks by Rosa

How to Overthrow the Government by Charlotte

Today, I’m going to answer some common questions about chats in Luna’s Chatterbox.

Q: I live outside the U.S., and all your chats take place at times when I can’t attend! Can you schedule some chats at different times?

A: We definitely want our girls outside North America to be able to chat with us! That’s why we hold one chat a month on a weekend morning. Girls in North America are off of school, so they can come to a morning chat. For most girls outside North America, the chat happens in the afternoon or evening. Our next morning chat is on Saturday, January 23.

Q: I tried to get into the chat, but I got an error message. What happened?

A: The chat room only allows 25 girls to be in it at the same time. You may have received an error message because the chat was already full. Keep trying — girls sometimes leave the chat early, which opens up a spot. The chat room also doesn’t allow two girls with the same name to be signed into the chat, so you may not be able to get in or you may be asked to change your name if a girl already in the chat has the same name as you. If you continue to get error messages, contact us to let us know exactly what the error message says.

Q: My chat screen is flashing, and it’s really annoying. Help!!

A: This happens mainly on MAC computers using the Internet browser Safari. Try using another browser to open the chat. If you still experience the blinking screen, contact us with details about the issue so our engineering team can investigate. Make sure to send the message from the computer you use for chatting, because our site can pick up valuable information about the web browser you’re using.

Q: Why is my comment taking so long to appear in the room? Or why didn’t my comment appear?

A: Luna’s Chatterbox is fully moderated. That means that an adult reads everything you send to the room before it goes public. The moderators receive dozens of messages every minute, so sometimes it takes a little while for them to read through them and approve. When chats are especially busy, moderators sometimes won’t approve comments that are off-topic. They also don’t always approve comments that don’t make sense by themselves, such as, “Yes,” or “I agree!” or “What?” To increase the chances that your post will be approved, write in complete sentences, and make it clear what you’re responding to. For example, “I agree that we should stay on topic!” or “What do you mean about being too old for NMG?”

I hope this post has cleared up some common questions, and that we’ll see you in a chat soon!

Germany’s top-selling women’s magazine, Brigitte, made a big change with the new year: they stopped using models in their ads.

Although Brigitte contains articles about fashion and dieting tips, they now use “real women” rather than models in their fashion ads. They say they made the change because women weren’t able to relate to the models in the photos.

The change is permanent, but some people still don’t think it’s a big enough step. So far, the women chosen to pose in the ads are all thin, with similar body types to models of the past. The magazine also continues to use diets as front-page stories.

What do you think? Did Brigitte make this change for women’s good, or to boost their sales? Should ads using “real women” be required to show women of many sizes, too? Is the change useless if the magazine continues with the same types of stories about being thin and beautiful? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Love,

Luna

Hi New Moon Girls! My name is Krissy, and I am the new editorial intern! I’m so excited to get started with my duties at new Moon and I am impressed already with the writing and art that you girls have produced. I would have loved to be part of New Moon when I was 8-15 but unfortunately I didn’t know about it then. This is internship is like a second chance for me to join in on the fun!

I applied for this internship because I have an interest in journalism. In college I study communication and writing studies. I’ve worked for my school newspaper for three years as well as other community journalism projects. I love writing about other people’s thoughts and concerns because I feel like I use my ability to write to be an advocate for other people. After I graduate from college I would really like to go to law school and become a lawyer so that I can advocate for people in a legal capacity. Right now I’m waiting find out whether or not I’ve been accepted to the law school that I applied to.

Since it’s winter break for me, I’ve been at home relaxing with my friends, reading books, baking, cooking, snow shoeing, and playing board games. My parents live in Wisconsin and I grew up in Wisconsin but I go to college in Minnesota.

I’m so excited to work with all of you and to spread the word about New Moon Girls to everyone that I know. I fully support New Moon Girls’ mission to help girls make a positive difference in their lives and in the world.

I can’t wait to get to know all you girls better! Click here to visit my room and send me a sticker.

Love,

Krissy