Pressure builds to create task force on missing, murdered Black women and girls in Wisconsin

MADISON - A call for action was made Thursday by lawmakers and advocates to pass a bill that would research the "root cause" of the disproportionate number of missing and murdered Black women and girls in Wisconsin.

"This isn't a Black, white, brown, male or female issue," Erika Brown said during a Capitol press conference. "This is a public safety issue."

Brown spoke on behalf of Sade Robinson's family, who were attending a court appearance for Maxwell Anderson in Milwaukee. Anderson was charged in mid-April with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and arson. He has plead not guilty.

Around the time the press conference ended in Madison, news broke in Milwaukee that Robinson's family had been notified that a human arm was discovered along the shoreline in Waukegan, Illinois. Other body parts belonging to Robinson have been discovered in Milwaukee and along Lake Michigan.

She said a task force, with experts trained in finding missing people and, in Robinson's case, missing body parts, bring a different skill set to an investigation. She said too often missing person cases are ignored or treated like murder investigations.

"This is not a time for personal agendas or political posturing," Brown said. "It is a time for collaboration and compassion. I urge swift action on the bill."

This is the third year the bill's lead Democratic author, Rep. Shelia Stubbs, has tried unsuccessfully to move the bill for the creation of a task force on missing and murdered Black women and girls through the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The task force would consist of legislators, law enforcement officials, legal experts and survivors. Its purpose would be to collect data, conduct research and then propose bills that would create policy change. The bill passed the Assembly but was never brought up for a vote in the Senate.

The bill met resistance from Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, who chairs the Senate Government Operations Committee.

In March, Stroebel said he would not hold a public hearing on the bill, citing his belief that every missing or murdered person deserves equal justice, and justice should not be prioritized based on a victim's race or gender.

Ten minutes before the 2:15 p.m. start of Thursday's press conference, Stroebel emailed a letter to Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul.

In July 2020, the Wisconsin Department of Justice created the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force. Stroebel suggested the same should be done with the task force for missing and murdered Black women and girls.

“I encourage Rep. Stubbs and all of the stakeholders who are passionate about this proposal to contact the Attorney General’s office to do the same,” Stroebel said in the letter.

However, a task force created by the DOJ requires funding. A legislative task force does not.

Stubbs told reporters she has spoken with Kaul and was told "funding" is an issue.

"At this point I don't care that funding is an issue," Stubbs said. "I want something done now."

Georgia Hill advocated for the creation of a task force from her home in Racine. She was put on speaker phone to talk about her daughter, Lasheky Hill. Hill was last seen in Racine on March 26, 2023, a day before her 46th birthday. Hill is now raising her daughter's son.

"Put your feet in my shoes," Georgia Hill said. "Pass this bill to help us people of color out. This can't keep going on."

Tanesha Howard last saw her daughter, Joniah Walker, nearly two years ago. Wednesday was Walker's 17th birthday. Walker suffers from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Howard remains frustrated that her daughter was never classified as "critically missing."

"When I reported her missing to Milwaukee police, I felt dismissed," Howard said.

Stubbs said she did not plan on waiting six months for the next legislative session to again try to create the task force. She encouraged any person in Wisconsin who has a missing relative to call her office at 608-237-9177. She said everyone needs to be heard and she would travel the state to listen to families with missing or murdered family members.

"This is not the last time you will hear me speak out on behalf of these families," Stubbs said.

Jessica Van Egeren is a general assignment reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at jvanegeren@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sade Robinson's murder reignites missing Black women task force effort