More than 1,000 people gathered Saturday in the gyms of Madison East High School to commemorate and honor Tony Robinson, the 19-year-old black teenager who was shot and killed by Madison Police Department Officer Matt Kenny on Williamson Street March 6.
By 3 p.m., the Milton McPike Field House was filled to capacity, prompting organizers to direct crowds into a secondary gym where they could watch the memorial service on projection screens.
“My nephew was not a victim. Simply put, victims do not survive … He dwells forever in our lives,” said Robinson’s aunt, Lorien Carter, in a poem she read aloud during the service. “He is our very own martyr, a champion for change.”
Speakers reiterated a common theme of Robinson’s life having ended too soon, and for there to be a way his death was not in vain.
“His life mattered, just like everyone in this room who showed up today to show appreciation for this man,” said speaker Alize Bell. “We are all standing strong for one man.”
There was a continual passionate pledge to find justice for his death that underscored the service as well.
“Anybody who stands in the way of true justice, I will make it my personal duty to expose it,” said Robinson’s uncle, Turin Carter.
The service, which was attended by a crowd of all ages and all races, included local, state and national community leaders, with U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., in the audience.
“What this memorial service really echoed to everybody that was present [is] that we want to make sure Tony Robinson did not die in vain,” said state Sen. Chris Taylor, D-Madison. “There’s a lot of sadness, there’s a lot of grief … But I think there’s a lot of hope here as well.”
Craig Spaulding, father of one of Robinson’s best friends, and one of the first people at the scene of his death, echoed Taylor’s sentiment, but expressed anger at an apparent lack of transparency from the police force. He recalled how the friends of Robinson were taken into custody the night of his death, without an option for crisis counseling, while the officer responsible would receive those services.
“There is not transparency,” Spaulding said. “[But this city] will not explode. Madison is not Ferguson.”
Negassi Tesmichael and Jen Wagman contributed to this report.
