This is part four of a new series the Sullivan County Democrat will be running each Friday in February in recognition of Black History Month.

She is a Sullivan County native that acts, models and continues to help her parents run J & J Driving School. He is an author, who also acts, teaches gymnastics and martial arts, and ran the Village of Monticello Recreation Department for many years.

Crystal and Pedro Tweed are nothing short of a power couple.

During the quarantine, they started a new project, Tweed Talks, which is a talk show on Facebook Live.

At first episodes centered around different topics like exercise and yoga to help keep people in shape while they were stuck at home.

“Then I thought of it, I said, ‘Listen, we just got to keep people entertained' ...something to make them forget about what really was happening,” said Pedro.

The Tweeds also started inviting some of their talented friends on the show, from those in martial arts to musicians with local ties like Cathy Paty and Justin Sutherland.

For Black History Month, one of their recent guests was Wendy Hilliard, the first African American gymnast to represent the United States in global competition.

The Tweeds hoped to introduce a new generation, who knows of Olympic athletes like Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas, to those that laid the foundation.

“There were trailblazers who came before those young ladies,” Crystal said, “they are both amazing and these kids need to know about them. I think that's very important. During the month of February, every year, for the past four or five years, I've been sharing a different African American figure each day.

“A lot of the figures that I share are not the common ones that you normally hear about like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, because most of the kids are taught about those two people in school,” Crystal continued. “I started sharing sort of obscure people that the public [may have never] heard of. I thought it was appropriate to share Wendy Hilliard. She really represented a pivotal moment in gymnastics, and for the African American community.”

Hilliard has started a foundation that reaches out to children in underserved areas who may otherwise not be introduced to gymnastics, and keeps rates affordable as gymnastics can be costly. That is also something the Tweeds have tried to do through Monticello Gymnastics.

“For her foundation to be able to share [gymnastics] with other kids who may not get that chance, I think is really great,” said Crystal.

The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation does take donations and, if people are looking to give locally, the Tweeds also mentioned the Soup Kitchen in Monticello and the United Way of Sullivan County, Inc.

But at the end of the day, the Tweeds say with everything going on with the pandemic, make sure to check on your neighbor.

“We are our neighbors' keeper,” they said.

For the full interview with Crystal and Pedro Tweed, including how they got into their respective careers and more info about Tweed Talks (which can also be viewed on YouTube in addition to Facebook Live), head to the Sullivan County Democrat Podcast Channel on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, Overcast or Spotify.