Race: Human
Gender: Female
Real Name: Chinaka Williams
Nickname: Chinaka
Birthdate and Location: April 28th, 1981 – Chicago, Illinois
Group Affiliation: NONE
Position: Co-owner of an LA art gallery
DESCRIPTION:
Chinaka is a very dark skinned black woman of 24 years and about 5’9” in height. Her black hair is in lots and lots of little braids and most of it is hers. Her features are keen, almost Somalian (like Iman). Her eyes are so dark they look black and are tilted in her head in a very exotic fashion. Her legs are long, her shoulders wide, she looks very fit.
BACKGROUND:
Chinaka is Parasol’s 6th generation granddaughter, born to Norton and Parasol’s 5th generation granddaughter Lucretia. Money has been in her family for a very long time and it afforded Chinaka many advantages. She attended private schools, she went to summer camp, took ballet lessons, music lessons, gymnastics. Her artistic gift was noticed early on by her Auntie Parasol and nurtured throughout her youth through college.
The family house in Hyde Park is a sprawling Frank Lloyd Wright affair with lots of large rooms, interesting nooks and bathrooms in each bedroom. It’s décor an odd mixture of homey and cold. Her father Norton is an executive for the beleaguered Amtrak and her mother a child psychologist, which she believes gives her insight into the raising of her daughters, Chinaka and Nakisha, 14.
Though Lucretia came to the marriage with lots and lots and lots of money, Norton has spent his life proving that her money wasn’t needed. He put most of his time and energy into his career, leaving little for his wife and family. Consequently, each have made their own way.
Chinaka’s way of dealing with absent daddy issues was to become completely self-absorbed and self-involved, thinking herself entitled to any and everything that she was born with and could acquire. Each effort on her part has been to further her own glorification in her mind and in the minds of others.
She excelled during high school and college, as valedictorian of both. Her high school years were not easy on her parents. She was a difficult combination of smarts without effort and wild child. She snuck out at night, partying until all hours and still managed to graduate with a 4.0. She became adept at manipulating her father and teachers.
Chinaka, however, couldn’t manipulate her mother. Lucretia, though blessed with an insane amount of money, is a very down-to-earth pragmatic woman, and Chinaka didn’t fool her for a second. Aware of Parasol’s special circumstances since Lucretia was a teenager, she believes as Parasol believes: the family’s survival is paramount, especially in light of what she believes was Parasol’s sacrifice to ensure it. This belief system she thought of trying to instill in Chinaka, but thought that she was too immature and self-involved to process it. When she was older was best.
Chinaka paid scarce attention to her little sister, Nakisha. She was nearly 14 when Nakisha was born and though she loved her sister, she was resentful that what little attention paid by her father particularly, now was divided with Nakisha. Plus Nakisha was way too little to share anything that Chinaka was interested in. She thought of Nakisha as just trouble.
Chinaka was crazy about her Auntie Parasol, who visited her family at least 5 times a year, staying for weeks. Parasol had her own room in the house. Chinaka always wondered why she had the dark room on the back and bottom of the house. She enjoyed visiting her room, though. The décor changed yearly and was always full of great clothes and make-up, real chick stuff. The room seemed a fairy-land when she was young. Chinaka enjoyed how much attention her Auntie Parasol paid to her, even after Nakisha was born. When she was young, she never questioned why her Auntie seemed only available to her at night because all of her aunt’s attention was focused on Chinaka. When she got older, she did a nifty job of denial – she accepted the idea that that was just how Auntie Parasol did things and she never grew older because she knew how to moisturize.
Chinaka was an art major at Fisk University, a small African-American private university in Nashville, Tennessee. She was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, eventually becoming its president in her junior year. It was there that she became involved in community service. It wasn’t because of a need to make the world better, but because of the praise that came her way.
Upon graduating from Fisk, she returned to Chicago but like any daughter, chafed under the rules in her mother’s house. One evening, while Parasol was visiting, Chinaka announced to her family her plans to move to LA. One of her paintings sold quite well and she was going to take the proceeds along with part of her trust to buy a gallery. Her father forbid it. Her mother thought it a rash decision.
Her Auntie Parasol was the only one to support her, offering the compromise of going to LA with her and instead of Chinaka using her trust, allowing Parasol to finance the other half of the purchase and start-up costs of the gallery. As part-owner, Parasol would run the business end, allowing Chinaka to paint, purchase and sell art and do all that community service she was so fond of. They could live at the house in Baldwin Hills that Parasol owned. Parasol said she’d leave to drive to LA in the morning. Chinaka wondered why Parasol would drive instead of flying. She especially liked the idea of not having to give up her trust. She jumped at the compromise.
Norton and Lucretia weren’t completely convinced of the soundness of the idea, but agreed that because Chinaka was dead set on moving, Parasol’s compromise was acceptable. They considered long and hard whether to tell Chinaka about Parasol, coming to the decision that they had to if the situation in LA was going to work.
Uncharacteristically, Norton and Lucretia procrastinated telling Chinaka about Parasol. The evening before Chinaka was to fly to LA, they interrupted her and Minerva, the housekeeper, packing, insisting despite her complaining that she come to the kitchen. They sat her down and told Chinaka about what Parasol was, how she became that way, about Elysian Fields, and even about Angelus and Darla. They told her the family’s prosperity was due in large part to Parasol’s efforts and loss. (Norton, of course, took exception to the “large part” part.) They told her that Parasol has been a benefactor and protector of the generations since then. They told her that she was named after Parasol’s daughter. They told her that there were many evils out there that might bring her harm and that Parasol was the least of them.
“Cool. Can I finish packing now?” was all Chinaka said, rising from the kitchen chair, and turning on her heels. Her parents watched somewhat astounded as she sashayed up the stairs to her bedroom yelling "Minerva -- did you pack my Badgley Mischka yet?"
ITEMS:
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