Slam Scholar

A slam poet, creative director and budding playwright who works at the intersection of human rights activism, policy and the performing arts, Osimiri Sprowal, CLA ’20, wants people like them—people with disabilities, trans people, people of color, people who are homeless, transfer students, Philadelphians, and Temple students and alumni—to know that they can evolve, grow and transform. Wherever they go, Sprowal tries to put themselves forward as boldly and loudly as possible as a message of hope. 

A ‘troublemaker’ with a mission

Whenever someone wants a group photo of winners of the Marshall Scholarship, a prestigious scholarship awarded to a few dozen outstanding American students annually to fund their graduate study in the United Kingdom, Sprowal grabs their walker and moves to the front of the shot. 

Sprowal wants to be seen. But not because they’re a glutton for attention or a self-described “troublemaker.” They push to the front because they’re on a mission. 

“I want people to see me with my walker,” Sprowal said. “I want other disabled people, and specifically mobility-impaired people, to see me in photographs, so that they are encouraged to apply for the scholarship. Visibility can create advocacy and that is why I intentionally make myself visible.”

A supportive community

Sprowal’s college journey was anything but easy. After a false start at another college that turned out to be a bad match, Sprowal came out as trans and ran away from home, spending parts of the next few years, including three semesters as a Temple student, living on friends’ couches. 

At Temple, Sprowal finally found the supportive community they needed. That support came from many sources, from the Office of Disability Resources and Services to an anonymous student who carried Sprowal across campus on his back to get care after Sprowal had a seizure in class. 

“The community element at Temple is so strong,” Sprowal said. “People at Temple will love you and support you. Even the security guards. I would not be where I am right now without that community.” 

Cutting a path

Sprowal has been writing poetry since they were 14 years old, and won the Philly Youth Poetry Movement championship in high school. Through their experiences with homelessness and the encouragement of Africology and African American studies faculty members, Sprowal’s voice strengthened, earning them the Feminine Empowerment Slam championship, as well as a College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational award. Additionally, they co-designed a program offering local youth “host homes” with supportive local LGBTQIA+ community members, and were appointed to the National Youth Forum on Homelessness. Additionally, they founded deadname.arts, Philadelphia’s first collective dedicated exclusively to trans and gender-expansive artists. 

In 2021, Sprowal won a Marshall Scholarship, which is funding their pursuit of master’s degrees at the University of Warwick. There, they are conducting ethnographic research for their first play, Perseus, and at the London School of Economics, they will study anti-LGBT policy and sentiment in the African diaspora. 

Their goal following graduation is to launch an organization called Closet Case that will provide gender-affirming materials to trans people experiencing homelessness and advocate for an understanding that providing these materials to trans people is medical care. 

“I feel called to cut a path for people so it’s easier for them,” Sprowal said. “That’s the point of being a troublemaker—so that people coming after you don’t have to cause as much trouble.”