[1][2][3] Standing at the boundary between Birmingham and Edgbaston, it was sculpted by John Thomas, whom Sir Charles Barry had employed as stone and wood carver on the former King Edward's Grammar School at Five Ways.

[2] Lower on the plinth, he is flanked by two female allegorical figures: one representing Peace holds a dove and an olive branch, with a lamb at her feet, symbolic of innocence; and the other, Charity, offers comfort and succour to two Afro-Caribbean infants, recalling the fight and victory over slavery.

[1][3] In 1925 the monument was moved a short distance, to its current position,[3] and a bronze plaque was affixed to the memorial to tell passers-by more about its subject.

The inscription reads (all in capitals; punctuation added for readability): He laboured to bring freedom to the Negro slave, the vote to British workmen, and the promise of peace to a war-torn world.In 2006–2007 the Birmingham Civic Society, Birmingham City Council, and the Sturge family restored the statue for the 200th anniversary of the Slave Trade Act 1807.

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, councillor Mike Sharpe, unveiled a new interpretation board giving details of Sturge's life.