By: Summer

Are Blacks Too Sensitive, Or Was The Outrage Warranted???

The Wisconsin State Fair is famous for its rides, delicious food, and drinks. However, a recent controversy emerged when a cow named ‘Jigaboo’ was presented with an award at the ceremonies. American citizens were outraged by the use of the term as it is a derogatory slur used to insult African-Americans, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinal.

The family exhibitor, Tianda Hildebrant, and the State Fair have since apologized to the black community, as per Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The cow’s name was changed after the Wisconsin State Fair controversy about racial slur

A picture of the cow whose name is also a racial slur started the controversy. (Image via Twitter/@WisHolsteins)

The Wisconsin State Fair began on August 3 and will continue until August 13. On August 5, 2023, a post was shared on the Fair’s Twitter account, showing the cow named ‘Jigaboo’ winning in the Top Senior 3-year-old category. Jigaboo is a slur “used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a black person,” according to Webster.com.

The word is defined as a combination of ‘Jig’ and ‘bugaboo.’ as per the Online Entomology Dictionary. ‘Jig’ has been a derogatory term since the late 18th century and bugaboo is a term used for “something to frighten a child, fancied object of terror. “

Netizen’s reaction (Image via Facebook)

A man from Pewaukee named David Blake was casually walking by the 172nd Wisconsin State Fair with his friends and family. He noticed a peculiar name (Jigaboo) posted by a cow which surprised him, so he took a picture and posted it online, according to WISN.

“It’s one of those words, one of those few words that should be totally off-limits. I mean, there’s a big one that we all know, and I think it’s on the same level,” he said.

He continued by calling out the state fair and saying:

“Disgusting, and definitely not something people should be using. And shame on the State Fair. I’d assume there’d be policies in place where they kind of look at the names and everything, why this was allowed to get through.”

A community activist named Vaun Mayes posted about the incident on Friday, August 11, and it ignited public outrage online.

The cow’s name has since been changed from the racial slur to ‘Puzzle,’ and people are speculating as it is an admission of guilt, according to WISN. The Wisconsin State Fair also removed the exhibitor Tianda Hildebrant from the list of competitors.

The Hilderbrant family apologized to the black community on Friday evening and said:

“We now recognize that the use of this word is unacceptable and harmful. Immediately upon learning the meaning of this term, we changed the cow’s name. We are committed to educating ourselves further.”

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Wisconsin State Fair’s response to the controversy

In response to the backlash, Wisconsin State Fair’s spokesperson, Tess Kerkson issued an official statement and said:

“We do not tolerate or condone this behavior and took swift and deliberate action to rectify this situation. The animal has been removed from State Fair Park. The exhibitor who showed this animal was part of our junior show and is also no longer at State Fair Park.”

Mayes questioned the credibility of the fair’s review board and said:
“I feel like that shouldn’t have gotten past State Fair to allow that.”
Kerkson explained to the public that the Wisconsin State Fair plans to review the entry process so that such a situation doesn’t occur in the future.