Reflecting on Nancy Elizabeth Prophet’s Living Legacy (Guest Speaker: Participates on committee) – Jordan Fischer

Working tech for Sylvia Ann Soares in “Defiance! The Spelman Years” gave me a new perspective on how performance can preserve history and honor legacy. I assisted with lights, sound, and set for the event, which was a collaboration between Spelman’s Theatre and Museum. Through this work, I was able to experience firsthand how the technical elements of theatre help bring stories like Nancy Elizabeth Prophet’s to life.

Seeing Sylvia Ann Soares embody Prophet on stage helped me understand her as more than just a historical figure in Spelman’s Museum collection. The performance gave depth to her struggles, creativity, and resilience, showing the emotional reality behind the artwork I had seen before. Being part of the team that helped present this story allowed me to connect Prophet’s visual art with her lived experience, creating a bridge between theatre and museum studies.

This experience strengthened my connection to the Spelman intellectual community by reminding me how art and scholarship can intersect to preserve the voices of Black women who came before us. Supporting the performance also reflected the Spelman sisterhood in action, as each department worked together to celebrate legacy, creativity, and truth through collaboration.