On today's program: Black, Young, and Educated responds to the arrest of a bike marshall by plain-clothes officers with an unmarked van at a recent protest; the story of one Pennsylvania suffragette; and Trace Brewing plans to open despite difficulties posed by the pandemic.
Working with police would be a “contradiction,” says Black, Young, and Educated co-founder
(00:00 — 5:20)
For 12 consecutive weeks,Black, Young and Educated has organized the Civil Saturday protests, drawing hundreds of people out onto the streets to call for policy reform and legislation to end police brutality.
This past weekend, a bike marshal at Civil Saturdays wasarrested by plain-clothes police and put into an unmarked van.
Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Commander Ed Trapp said at a press conference Sunday authorities and protestors need to work together and coordinate march routes, but working with the police runscounter to what the protests are trying to accomplish, says BYE co-founder and CEO Nick Anglin.
“It’s a complete contradiction of what we stand for to be working with the same people that are oppressing us,” he says. “I don’t see any time in the future where we’ll be sharing route details with officers.”
Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich says there's been a lack of communication, but Anglin says if police want to talk, they should start by listening to the protesters.
“[If] they’re going to want to speak with us, I would want them to actually speak to us, and have a conversation with us, not try to talk down to us and basically tell us what we have to do.”
How one woman helped drive the suffrage movement in Pennsylvania
(5:28 — 12:16)
Today marks the centennial of the adoption of the 19th Amendment, when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the right for women to vote. Congress passed the amendment in June 1919, and Pennsylvania ratified it just three weeks later.
WITF’sJulia Agos tells thelong lost story of one Pennsylvanian’s efforts for women’s suffrage.
Community spaces are still “vital,” says Trace Brewing founder
(12:25 — 17:46)
Opening a business is a risky venture at any time. It can require years of planning and work, but opening one during a pandemic is a whole new challenge.
Dave Kushner, the founder ofTrace Brewing, took on that challenge. His taproom and brewery was originally scheduled to open in early Spring, but then the shutdown occurred. Now he plans to open in September in Bloomfield, with a few modifications to account for the pandemic. He says Trace Brewing is trying to stay “as nimble and as slim as possible” while planning for multiple possible outcomes.
“You plan your projections for low, medium, and high scenarios and the worst case scenario is being completely shut down again, which we are planning for. And I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but that’s part of our projections is being closed for 30, 60, 90 days completely and only selling beer to go and only selling beer to distributors,” he says.
Despite the extra difficulties caused by the pandemic, Kushner says his vision for the brewery as a community-centric, neighborhood tap room has not changed. “The pandemic has shown us that local and community-focused places are really, really vital.”
The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in weekdays at 9 a.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here or wherever you get your podcasts.
