May 6, 1998, was the opening of Kerry James Marshall exhibition Mementos at the Renaissance Society in Chicago, which will be key in his career. Marshall uses the genre of history painting to reread the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and the whole of African-American History in relation to a very complex present.

In this POST, the artist shares a detail of Souvenir I and the message to carry on the legacy of those who died for the cause including Martin Luther King and the Kennedy brothers.

The art dealer Jack Shainman, an early supporter of his work, comments on the fact that the artwork should be in a museum, and now the case.

The artist Carrie Mae Weems, also represented by Jack Shainman gallery and a close friend of Marshall also comments.