The assemblages of Miami-based artist T. Eliott Mansa mark a convergence of American roadside memorials and West African ritual objects. Following his travels to West Africa, the artist found deep inspiration in Congolese N’kisi power figures, known for their protective qualities, and perhaps most distinguished for their armor of nails and shells. In his wish to pay homage to the aesthetic qualities of these guarding entities, the artist created Marching and Singing with Yesterday’s Coffin on Their Heads III, a towering assemblage that draws from some of the physical elements in N’Kisi figures. This assemblage was created during the BLM movement that led to a sprouting of roadside memorials along American highways and side streets. Accordingly, Mansa’s work of art is a hybrid power figure in its own right, drawing strength from his ancestors and contemporaries alike in building a majestic shrine that commands attention and awe.