We pivot back to our coverage of the civil rights movement and in this episode we focus our attention to the Montgomery Bus Boycott & Rosa Parks.

We are joined by Donna Beisel who is the Director of Museum Operations at The Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.

This episode discusses themes related to racial violence, discrimination, and sexual assault, including references to cases Rosa Parks worked on during her time with the NAACP. These topics may be sensitive for some listeners. Please take care while listening and feel free to pause or step away if needed. For your reference this is discussed from the 15 min - 17 minute mark.

There is always more to lear - talk to you soon,

Jimmy & Jean

We have been going mainly chronologically thus far, and with 2026 being the 250th anniversary of our country, we decided to mix in some different types of episodes to recognize where we have been, along with reminders of how we got there, and what we need to do to keep it going!

Today's podcast title, It Starts with Us: Keeping Democracy Alive for the Next 250 Years, delves into the responsibilities we have as citizens to stay educated and remember that the power is in the hands of the people. We assign that power to our elected officials in order for them to represent US!

Today, Jeananne is joined by Ira Chaleff

Ira and Jeananne discuss open dialogue with people who have differing views, not being closed off to other opinions, and more importantly, educating yourself with the viewpoints from the political left, center, and right.

There is always more to learn, talk to you soon!

-Jimmy & Jean

Our podcast on the legislative branch and civic engagement focuses on the interactions between politicians and their constituents.

Do you know who your congressman is? Do you know who your two state senators are? Do you know how to reach them?

Well we will get into all of this and more! Jeananne is joined by Bradford Fitch, the former CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation. He has spent 40 years in Washington as a journalist, congressional aide, consultant, college instructor, Internet entrepreneur, and writer/researcher. He is a leading trainer of citizen-advocates in the U.S., with more than 50,000 Americans participating in one of his programs. His most recent book was just published, Citizen's Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials: Engaging with Congress and State Capitols

and can be found on Amazon with the link above.

Take a listen as there is always more to learn!

-Jimmy & Jean

Additional Guest information:

BradfordFitch.com Find Your Members in the U.S. Congress | Congress.gov | Library of Congress