“The Monument” is about long-serving South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond’s secret biracial daughter Essie Mae Washington-Williams — and her relationship with her history-making father. Many wonder why Essie Mae waited until after her father’s death to come forward, and “The Monument” explores that question, as well as the steps she took to make certain her place in history was finally acknowledged on a statue that honors the Senator’s often controversial public service. The United States is currently grappling with its stance on memorials and statues that commemorate historical figures with problematic backgrounds, and the country is also just now struggling to face the ugly truth about its long, painful history of racism, a needed reckoning that’s nonetheless painful for many. “The Monument” tackles these issues via Essie Mae’s life story: how she learned of her father, her relationship with her father as he ran for President as part of the Dixiecrat Party that promoted segregation and then later gave the longest filibuster in history in order to stop the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and how she dealt with never being publicly recognized by her own father.