In an ongoing practice of memorialization, Hank Willis Thomas started his Falling Stars series in 2018. Each embroidered star represents a life lost by gun violence in the United States - 15,093 in 2016, 15,580 in 2017, 14,916 in 2018, 15,433 in 2019 and 20,923 in 2021. Gun violence is a perpetual issue in the United States, and for many Americans, a personal one. It was for Thomas when his best friend and cousin, Songha Willis, was murdered in Philadelphia in 2000. The grimmest fact to face in the wake of Songha's death was that it was not unique in the United States. In 2018 Thomas said, “There have been more than 500,000 people [shot to death] in the United States since my family lost Songha. It is impossible to measure the magnitude and impact of this societal loss. While this installation is a memorial to the thousands of people who were killed by guns, it also pays homage to the countless loved ones who carry perpetual grief and trauma as unacknowledged victims of gun violence in America.