A proposal that would allocate $7,000 for a Milwaukee memorial for Sade Robinson, the 19-year-old Black woman who was slain last April, has been withdrawn. During a recent Milwaukee County Committee on Parks and Culture meeting, Robinson’s family told County Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez that they would pay for the memorial themselves.
WTMJ-TV has reported that Robinson’s family reached the decision after some people expressed outrage over their tax dollars for the memorial, though this would delay the process. Her cousin, Keke, explained the reasoning behind their choice.
“I thought it was cool at first because obviously it was a memorial for Sade,” she said. “But then things instantly changed for the family. We started getting negative feedback from community and people and we just didn’t want that.”
However, Martinez described the messages he received about the proposal as racist.
“A flurry of racist emails saying why should Black folk get this when white folk don’t get this and turned it into this issue where it didn’t really belong,” said Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez.
“I also received several of those emails that I thought were pretty despicable,” said Supervisor Jack Eckblad. “There were plenty of folks who just had honest, empathetic things to say, but there were others who really crossed several lines.”
“I just want to say shame on people for treating a grieving mother this way and making it a race thing and treating her as subhuman when it’s absolutely unnecessary and absolutely unethical and it shows the most disgusting and detestable parts of our society,” Martinez added.
Robinson was allegedly killed last year by Maxwell Anderson, who is charged with her murder. Robinson was also dismembered and some of her remains were found in Warnimont Park.
The family plans on paying for the bench in Warnimont Park that will serve as the memorial.
“We’re still very much committed to working with the family and with the Milwaukee Parks Foundation and other partners to make this happen,” Milwaukee County Parks Director Guy Smith told TMJ4.
A GoFundMe was founded to support this endeavor.
Smith also said the earliest the bench could be built would be this Spring, but it depends on how much money is raised during the fundraising process.