The monument was erected in 2014 in Hampton Park and honors Denmark Vesey, a freedman who lived in Charleston and was executed in 1822 for plotting a slave revolt.

[3] In 1996, a committee was formed by a city councilmember and a member of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture for the purposes of creating the monument.

[5] An op-ed published in The New York Times in 2014 discussed the controversy, with the author claiming "There's no doubt that Vesey was a violent man, who planned to attack and kill Charleston whites.

[7] A 2011 article in Bernews pointed out that the location for the monument, Hampton Park, was far from the city's historic district and would probably not be seen by many tourists.

This elicited further responses from individuals concerned with the monument's subject, with many letters to newspapers criticizing Vesey and calling him "a mass murderer" and an "advocate of ethnic cleansing".

[3] Colorado-based sculptor Ed Dwight was selected to design the monument, which consisted of a statue of Vesey atop a large pedestal.