"Commercial commemorative souvenirs often provide a space for the purchaser of the object to insert himself into the process of commemoration. In the We Mourn our Loss paintings I left a blank oval in which viewers can write something that inspires a sense of loss in them. The commemorative banners suggest how the process can be opened up, so that other people can participate in it. The images of King and the Kennedy's are blocked out in various ways to allow people who want to insert something of their own to do so whithout feeling that they're desecrating a memory." - Kerry James Marshall, 2000