MILWAUKEE — Family, friends and community members gathered to honor the life of Sade Robinson, a 19-year-old college student whose disappearance and death last April sent shockwaves through the city.

What You Need To Know

  • Family, friends and community members gathered over the weekend to honor Sade Robinson, a 19-year-old college student who was killed last year
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  • Robinson vanished after a date with Maxwell Anderson, 33, who now faces multiple charges

  • Hosted by Milwaukee restaurateur Omar Shaikh, the memorial on Sunday served as both a tribute and a call to action

  • Funds raised will go toward Sade’s Voice, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting families of missing and murdered women of color

Robinson vanished after a date with Maxwell Anderson, 33, who now faces multiple charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and arson. 

Hosted by Milwaukee restaurateur Omar Shaikh, the memorial on Sunday served as both a tribute and a call to action. 

“Obviously this was a tragedy that happened a year ago, but I just got emotional,” said Shaikh. “I have daughters myself and really wanted to do something for the family and knew a lot of us leaders would step up.”

Initially, Shaikh planned on a small fundraiser at his restaurant, Carnevor, but the event expanded as people across the city expressed their desire to contribute. 

“We were going to do a small dinner and just raise the money at Carnevor, and people just started saying ‘Hey I want to be a part of it. I want to donate,’” said Shaikh. “So, it just grew and so this is our community. Our community is incredible, right?”

Funds raised will go toward Sade’s Voice, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting families of missing and murdered women of color. 

Milwaukee Common Council President José G. Pérez, who attended the event, said he knows the pain of such a loss firsthand. Two years ago, his niece was killed in an act of domestic violence. 

“Unfortunately, this is a need in the community,” said Ald. Pérez. “We have many women of color that are victims to violent crime, domestic violence. Our family suffered from that. It will be two years from this February that my niece was violently murdered through domestic violence.”

As the community gathered in her memory, there was a shared determination to ensure that no other family endures such loss in silence. 

“Today is about showing the family that we’re here to support her and we have a lot of leaders here, a lot of community here to really show up to show, ‘Hey we’re here for her and the family,’” said Shaikh.

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