Sade Robinson memorial plans on hold after backlash | FOX6 Milwaukee

Sade Robinson memorial plans on hold after backlash

Milwaukee County leaders on Tuesday said public backlash – some of it hateful and racist – has derailed plans for a proposed memorial for Sade Robinson.

Public backlash

What they're saying:

The proposed memorial is on pause for now, but one county supervisor said it's not over yet.

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"I knew we would get something, I didn’t think we would so much of it like the way it is now," said County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez. 

Martinez has been working with Robinson's family. He proposed a memorial to honor the 19-year-old woman at Warnimont Park in Cudahy, where he severed leg was found last April.

The plan would use taxpayer funds to help cover the memorial's costs. However, Martinez said the proposal came with public pushback and hateful comments toward Robinson's mother.

"She was just getting all kinds of racist attacks, as was I," Martinez said.

Warnimont Park

Other county supervisors noted the response on Tuesday.

"There was an outcry saying taxpayers of Milwaukee County ought not to be paying for a memorial simply because, not my words, these are terms that were used, simply because another Black person has lost their life," said County Supervisor Felesia Martin. 

"There were plenty of folks who just had honestly empathic things to say, but there were others who really crossed several lines," County Supervisor Jack Eckblad said.

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Memorial on hold

What's next:

Martinez said, after speaking with Robinson's mother, he decided to take the original proposal off the table. Milwaukee County's Committee on Parks and Culture unanimously voted to do so.

"The grieving mother wanted this taken back, so I did what she wanted me to do," he said. 

Martinez said it's not over yet. He said they will work to raise money for a memorial, possibly in a different location. He said he understands the discourse around using taxpayer dollars to pay for the memorial, but still calls the reaction disappointing.

Sade Robinson; Warnimont Park

"Sometimes humanity should take precedence over the dog whistle of ‘my taxpayer dollars,’" he said.

Martinez said today's decision still has to go before the full county board for a vote. He said he'll continue working with Robinson's family to honor her legacy.

Maxwell Anderson

The backstory:

Maxwell Anderson is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and arson of property other than a building. He is accused of killing Robinson after a date – and then dismembering her before dumping her body parts across Milwaukee County. One of her arms was later found on an Illinois beach.

Anderson had planned to kill Robinson weeks before her death, according to a statement from a "confidential informant" noted in court filings FOX6 News obtained. A search warrant also revealed prosecutors believe Anderson tried to cover up Robinson's death with a text message. 

In December, Anderson's trial was pushed back to May 2025.

The Source: Information in this report is from FOX6 News interviews, pMilwaukee County Parks and prior coverage. 

Crime and Public SafetyMaxwell AndersonNewsMilwaukee