[Chicago Crossings: Bridges and Boundaries, reel 27; Parada/Walker]

In the second part of Kartemquin Films' visit to Esther Parada's studio, Parada and fellow artists Hamza Walker, Marva Jolly, and Kerry Marshall discuss their pieces for their upcoming group exhibition and how they got their names.

0:13Copy video clip URL Continuing the discussion on names, Kerry Marshall tells the group about how his name comes from an Irish polka and translates to “son of the Black.”

1:00Copy video clip URL The group begins to discuss the power of names, and the interesting nature of some newer Black names. Marshall mentions the fact that his wife’s family has some members “named after hot cereals,” while Marva Jolly reveals that her twin sister’s name is “Larva,” much to the amusement of the group.

3:15Copy video clip URL Esther Parada tells the group her middle name, Daube, as well as some of the nicknames it inspired. “People would call me Esther Derby Racer… and now it’s Easter Parade,” Parada explains, as the group bursts out in laughter.

5:00Copy video clip URL The group continues talking about modern Black names. Jolly alludes to one of her family members, “D’ominique” (pronounced DEE-ominique), and her confusion with the modern trend. “I think names are important, I think naming is important. That’s why I don’t have untitled pieces. I’m going to call it something,” says Jolly.

8:30Copy video clip URL B-roll footage of Parada working on her computer, while the other artists continue talking in the background about names.

10:45Copy video clip URL The four artists gather around Parada’s computer as she demonstrates the process of capturing stills from the video. “It’s pretty crazy how expressive people are over 0.2 seconds,” Walker remarks.

15:20Copy video clip URL The artists talk about the layout of their pieces and the layout of the exhibit as a whole.

16:44Copy video clip URL The group begins to go through Marshall’s still shots, laughing at one in particular in which his tongue is out.

18:30Copy video clip URL The group talks about the TIME magazine cover that Parada and Walker’s piece is modeled after and the idea of racial blending.