// AFRICAN-AMERICAN //
// CHEROKEE NATION //
// NEWARK, New Jersey by way of GeoRGIA, NORTH CAROLINA, USA //
"Through movement, I bear witness to my ancestors’ shared language and restore that which centuries of white supremacy and economics of exploitation has sought to destroy. For me, dance is unapologetic, joyful, sensual, powerful, vulnerable, positive, painful, masculine and feminine Blackness. This is why I create works that are authentic, naturalistic, joyful, responsive, creative, and steeped in history. It is my inheritance, my responsibility, and my privilege. ”
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Photo: Olivia Eng
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"When I was diagnosed with Vitiligo, I was halfway through a mental and emotional spiral during my first year of grad school in San Francisco. Over the course of that year, I spent countless days looking in the mirror and seeing this strange patchwork quilt of discolored spots mutating across the left side of my face. Every few weeks, one spot might fade on my nose, or a few tiny specks would grow into a constellation from my chin to my cheek. It felt like my melanin...my very Blackness was under attack...as if the trauma of my ancestors being overtaken and uprooted by white colonizers was unfolding across my skin, and their scars were staring back at me."
Photo: 2 Cent Movement
COLORS OF MY FLAG, VOLUME III
COLORS OF MY FLAG, VOLUME III
Music: "Down time In My Soul" by Rage
Here’s the truth that was buried with me/
Four Roman centuries caught up
After Atoms split from the womb/
Even Eden couldn’t hold all us
So some still followed her heavens/
While others clung to his earth
Before the flood cleansed our waters/
The hateful fires gave birth
The blood and venom within us/
Became the bane of our brothers
The cane never made us able/
To see the pain of our mothers
But poisoned minds cannot see/
the greedy seeds envy seeks
Now the dark knight’s returned,
The Prince of (C)Rhyme comes to reap
So this is how we do it/
When we repping for the town// (that)
Raised a Black and Silver nation
Stationed to defend the crown//
(Wakanda!)
You unleashed the rage of Panthers/
when you tried to steal our drums//
50 years of Storm's not reigning/
Woke Dark Phoenix from the sun
Thunderbirds roar behind eyelids/
Every time that she recalls when//
Her children were torn apart
with the stroke of inky pens/
Caged mockingbirds died in vain
but only took 3/5ths of them //
Erased all trace of our origins/
Then raped our children again//
(So they'd give birth to generations/
Of mutants bound to their whim//)
We became beasts of no nation/
When they left our borders porous//
By pouring acid on our genes/
to whitewash our brightest orphans//
Lit matches to family trees/
Is sickness burning Earth's organs//
drugs in Tuskegee
Viral content the feds uploaded//
History repeats when
we don't answer his reminders//
But set freedom as our ringtone/
And still pay $1.49er//
To give up his right to speak/ against terminating our lives//
The matrix fed Neo spoonfuls of cubicles soaked in lyes//
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
Ezra Myles Bristow S.C.A.R.S. Story (African-American // Cherokee Nation // USA)
Music: Blue Boi by Lakey Inspired
Ezra Myles Bristow is a Multidisciplinary Artist, Arts Educator and Producer based in Oakland, CA. Much like his birthplace of Newark, NJ, Ezra creates and curates art experiences that bridge the gap between the shared cultural legacies of the African Diaspora. He weaves visual art, digital media, spoken word, and dance to engage and empower youth through the lens of Carnival as a multiethnic celebration of liberation, resilience, joy, and heritage.
Ezra's creative journey began early. Upon graduating high school in 2010, he had won multiple competitions on a youth stepping team, co-founded The Pingry School’s first student-led hip-hop dance team, illustrated original comics, studied Art History at Johns Hopkins University and Cartooning at the School of Visual Arts.
In 2011, spurred by an absence of Hip-Hop dance opportunities on campus, Ezra co-founded Elemental Movement Dance Crew, Trinity College’s first, co-ed, all-styles hip-hop dance group. As co-captain and choreographer with Ella Wechsler-Matthaei, Ezra successfully fought to expand access to dance for students of all social, economic, cultural, educational backgrounds and abilities. While studying Visual Arts and Communication Studies at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago in 2013, Ezra honed his wide ranging talents into a multimedia artistic vision of community empowerment modeled after the Jouvay Popular Theatre Process, first conceived by his late mentor, Trinidadian playwright, director, and cultural icon, Tony Hall.
Since 2015, Ezra has been one of the principal dancers and volunteer media manager for SambaFunk! Carnaval Explosion under the direction of Theo Aytchan Williams. While representing the band, he placed as first runner up in the 2017 Carnaval San Francisco King and Queen Competition in the King category.
He has taught dance classes to youth across the Bay Area, and performed with such musical greats as Sheila E, Dwayne Wiggins, and Howard Wiley. Since 2018, Ezra has worked full-time with youth as a dance instructor, Production Coordinator, and Program Associate for the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond, CA. He is the founder and creative director for MylesBeyond Entertainment, an event and media production company that provides comprehensive event, design, and entertainment services to arts professionals, arts organizations, and local businesses.
“When I move, I tap into the fullness of my experience as a Diasporic descendant. My style is an energetic amalgamation of my musical and cultural origins: Jazz, Hip-Hop, House, Jersey Club, Gospel, Dancehall, Samba, Salsa, Soca, Contemporary, and Afro-Pop."
