Sade Carleena Robinson raises over $28,000 before memorial for Milwaukee woman halted over backlash

The Sade Carleena Robinson memorial proposal in Milwaukee County was withdrawn recently. County supervisor, Juan Miguel Martinez, confirmed the withdrawal during a recent parks and culture committee meeting after receiving racist emails.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the memorial would have cost the county $7,000 if approved. However, amidst the halt, a fundraiser started after Sade Carleena Robinson had already fetched donations of over $28,000.

The fundraising campaign on GoFundMe aims to start up the operations of Sade's Voice Foundation. As of this writing, the fundraiser for the non-profit organization has a goal of $45,000.

The Sade Carleena Robinson memorial, a proposal withdrawn recently, was also one of the multiple goals. The funds will also contribute to the “first annual Sade's Voice Community Artist Gala Fundraiser event” and “grants/scholarships for Sade's Voice self-defense courses for young women” within Milwaukee. The “2nd annual Sade's Voice Foundation Back to School Drive” is also part of the key focus.

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Sade Carleena Robinson went missing and was killed in April 2024

Sade Carleena Robinson, a 19-year-old Milwaukee resident, did not show up for work on April 2, 2024. As her absence was rare, one of her co-workers called the police for a welfare check. The authorities reported her missing and on the same day, they also found a severed right leg at Warnimont Park. The leg was revealed to be Robinson's, while Warnimont Park was the last location where her phone was last active.

Subsequently, the local authorities discovered different body parts belonging to Sade Carleena Robinson in the upcoming weeks. At the same time, police apprehended Maxwell Steven Anderson, who was last seen with her in public on April 4, 2024. Robinson had gone on a date with Anderson on April 1. She first met him at his workplace before they headed to another place for their date.

Authorities found blood at Anderson’s house, along with some questionable possessions in his basement. On April 12, 2024, police charged Anderson with “first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and arson.” He had allegedly also burnt Sade Carleena Robinson’s 2020 Honda Civic to erase the evidence. The search for Robinson’s dismembered body parts continued even after Anderson was charged.

A trial in the case is still pending, initially slated to begin in December 2024. During a pre-trial hearing on December 2, 2024, the trial was further delayed from December 9 to May 2025.

Meanwhile, a proposal to install Robinson’s memorial was also withdrawn, as supervisor Martinez said in a committee meeting,

"People should be thoroughly ashamed of the way that Ms. Robinson has been treated for wanting this. 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."

For the uninitiated, the proposal for the memorial was halted after Martinez talked to Robinson’s mother, Sheena Scarbrough.