Cylk CozArt; Director / Producer / ActorWWW.COZARTSENTERTAINMENT.COM

Cylk Cozart was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, His father is African American and his mother is Native American (Cherokee).

CozArt, had a very brutal introduction to the world when he was born. His teenage mother, went into a coma for 2 days. Both mother and child were not going to make it. The racist Tennessee hospital, would not admit the Indian mother and her African American husband. His family was relatively poor and he spent an inordinate amount of his adolescence bouncing between his Cherokee, teenage mother and his father's family, who lived in a small hamlet outside the city of Knoxville. Cylk chased farm animals and tended to crops. Cylk, pronounced like "Elk," with a C in front, is a Cherokee nick name for ‘Running Water,” was given to him by the famous, Chief Iron Eyes Cody, who was close friends with Cherokee Chief ManKiller. At the mere age of 3, Cylk was enrolled into an all African American school near Oak Ridge,Tennessee. Soon, the US Government enforced National School Busing and Cylk was forced to go to an all white school.

Nobody noticed that this little boy was much younger than all of his classmates. There was no middle or Jr. High school so Cylk went right into high school 2 years early. The KKK, burned two crosses in his yard; then murdered (his German shepherd dog named “King,”) whose body they hanged from a tree in his yard. Maybe at 12 he was too young to comprehend such awfulness. But his great-aunt and uncle, (since deceased), understood. To make sure everyone saw the ugliness, they left the charred crosses in place for a few days. Young CozArt boarded the school bus that morning, while the smoke from the charred crosses, rose eerily for all to see.
His mixed ancestry was transparent. Finding a comfortable balance between his Cherokee ancestry and the Buffalo Soldier genes, was an ongoing challenge. His African American lineage can be traced back to the "white CozArts,"of North Carolina, who owned tobacco plantations and hundreds of slaves. His great- grandfather was a slave on the CozArt tobacco plantation.

CozArt's athletic ability in high school football and basketball, led to several college scholarship offers, but hatred from the Karns high school and community raised it's ugly head right after a winning senior football season. Cylk spent many Friday nights, (sleeping inside the football locker room), to avoid the fights and beatings he had received many ti