Warwick native Nancy Elizabeth Prophet was RISD’s first graduate of color, an African-American / Narragansett Pequot woman who received her painting degree in 1918. Like Josephine Baker and Marion Anderson, Prophet decamped to Europe to escape racism, but returned home a few years later, obscure and impoverished. Prophet’s Rhode Island years are the focus of Defiance!, a one-woman show conceived by local actress Sylvia Ann Soares, who based the play on Prophet’s diaries. She’s performed the piece around town before, but now it’s getting a four-day run at AS220.
Note: A previous version of this post indicated that the event was happening at Providence Public Library