On today’s program: A year after its first demonstration, Black, Young, & Educated’s co-founder Nick Anglin says Civil Saturdays are back and will take place every other week this summer; and Pittsburgh natives and brother-sister duo Molly and Bailey Donovan talk about writing, producing and directing their film “Back for Good.”
Black, Young, & Educated is turning its sights to additional issues along with use of force
(0:00 — 8:54)
June 6, 2020 was the first of 16 consecutive weekend rallies, protests, marches held in Pittsburgh to call for racial and social justice. Black, Young, & Educated, founded by Nick Anglin and Treasure Palmer, organized Civil Saturdays throughout the city, drawing thousands of people.
A year since the first demonstration, Civil Saturdays resumed in Pittsburgh last weekend, kicking off with a rally in solidarity with Palestinians.
“We’re always expanding the topics that we want to make people aware of,” says Nick Anglin. Last year’s demonstrations largely emphasized changing policing and criminal justice, with a focus on amending Title 18 Section 508 in the Pennsylvania Code. Section 508 governs use of force in law enforcement.
“[Section 508] is still a priority, right now we’re focusing more on the people than politicians,” says Anglin. “I’m working on a campaign, the Power to the People Campaign, and that is solely focusing on [Pennsylvania] voters, Pittsburgh voters.”
Anglin says planning 16 straight weeks of rallies last year took a toll on the collective. This summer, the pair are planning to hold Civil Saturdays every other week, along with other events.
BYE also received a $10,000 grant from the Opportunity Fund, which is being facilitated through 1Hood Media. The money will support general operations of BYE, and Anglin hopes to create a community fridge program and fund other projects.
Pittsburgh-native creators of “Back for Good” film reflect on creating this movie as a family
(9:08 — 18:00)
The feature film “Back for Good,” co-written and co-directed by Pittsburgh natives and siblings Molly Donovan and Bailey Donovan, is now streaming internationally.
The film follows Max Kelly, an aspiring actor played by Molly, as she leaves New York City to return to Pittsburgh, her hometown, to reclaim the love she left behind.
“I think that her mind thinks that she’s going back for one person, but I think what she really needed was to be home in a place that really cared about her, a place where she felt safe.,” explains Molly.
Pittsburgh theater-goers might remember Molly Donovan’s work with the Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival and Pittsburgh Public Theater, among others. While her character struggles with wanting to return home, Molly says the film doesn’t reflect her real life.
“The story is not autobiographical,” says Molly. “But it definitely had a lot to do with where I was at in my mind and what I was questioning about my life at the time when I was writing it.”
Bailey says while the movie was filmed in 2014, he hopes it strikes a chord with viewers today.
“It’s really a movie about digging deep and kind of re-evaluating what your real priorities are and what you really value in life, the relationships you have and your career,” says Bailey.
This film was largely a family affair: Molly and Bailey’s father Peter Donavan played Max’s father; their brother Joel Micah Donovan was the lead executive producer; their sister Hannah Donovan led the makeup department; and mother Bobbi Donovan was the production designer.
“When people have asked us, ‘Were you planning to write and direct a feature film together at some point?’ The answer is not really yes, we weren’t planning on it,” says Molly. “It was just kind of inevitable, I guess, that we would all sync up and work on something together. I’m sure we’ll do it again.”
Bailey adds that collaborating with each other brought stability.
“There’s a sort of unconditional love and respect that comes with a family member and I think when you’re in that kind of collaboration you feel a lot more free creatively,” says Bailey.
The feature film “Back for Good” is streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Google Play.
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