Milwaukee has been grappling with a recent decision to delay a memorial for 19-year-old Sade Robinson, whose body was dismembered and found in different areas last April. The decision followed a wave of racist emails, which led to a postponed vote by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors Parks and Culture Committee. Supervisor Juan Miguel Martinez told WISN, "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."

Supervisor Jack Eckblad also shared to WISN, "I also received several of those emails that I thought were pretty despicable." The proposed memorial, possibly a simple bench, became a larger symbol of the community's struggle with addressing gender violence and systemic racism, particularly against women of color. Martinez said, "We need to honor victims of gender violence, women of color."

However, not everyone supported the memorial. As per TMJ4, after backlash from parts of the community, Sade Robinson's family withdrew their support for the county-funded memorial. The family cited concerns about the negative attention and the use of tax dollars for the memorial. Robinson's cousin, Keke, expressed the family's frustration over the controversy, saying they did not want to be associated with it.

Maxwell Anderson, the man accused in connection with Sade Robinson's death, has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree intentional homicide. Anderson is being held on a $5 million cash bond, with his trial scheduled for May.