What’s in a name? Apparently, a lot, as one cow exhibitor at the Wisconsin State Fair found out. Generally, state fairs are all about good food, drinks, and chilling out. Also, it’s where all the competitions about enormous vegetables, animals, etc., are held.
After all, every year, without fail, there’s that one video of a guy growing a giant pumpkin that crosses our social media feeds. However, something went wrong this year. The name of a cow called Jigaboo offended everyone so much that the animal and the owner were kicked off the exhibition. But why?
At the Wisconsin State Fair, a cow named Milgene Tatoo Jigaboo caused controversy when it won the Top Senior 3-year-old category. The term Jigaboo is a derogatory remark used to refer to African Americans and is similar to the N-word. Following the outrage, the animal and its owner, Tianda Hildebrant, have been removed from the list of exhibitors. She, as well as the State Fair, have apologized for their actions.
What’s the Wisconsin State Fair Racial Slur Cow Controversy?
On August 5, 2023, on the Wisconsin State Fair’s Twitter account, a post showed a cow called Jigaboo that had won the Top Senior 3-year-old category. Outrage poured in due to the name of the animal, and what added fuel to the fire was a man named David Blake’s post, which shamed the authorities for even allowing the animal and its owner in the competition. He said:
“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. 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.”
Tianda Hildebrant and her cow, which she presented at the Wisconsin State Fair, was named Milgene Tatoo Jigaboo. The name Jigaboo caused a tonne of controversy which made the State Fair remove her and the animal from the list of exhibitors.
This is because, as per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, the term Jigaboo is a derogatory slur that was once widely used to insult African-Americans. It’s equivalent to the N-word.
Since the incident, the cow’s name has been changed to Milgene Tatoo Puzzle. Officials of the State Fair have said that they don’t condone or tolerate such behavior. When they learned about it, they immediately corrected the situation as the exhibitor, Hildebrant, wasn’t at the State Fair any longer.
Also, the organizers have promised that from now on; they will look at the names and such of the participants and their animals more carefully. The Hilderbrant family also put out an apology to the black community, saying:
“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.”
But a lot of people online aren’t buying the apology. Many have stated that if they named their cow that, it must mean that they know what it means. On the Milwaukee subreddit, one person posted:
“I’m not buying that none of the old white people in this farm family had ever heard this was a racial slur. Maybe the girl was showing it, but plenty of people around her knew and were ok with it.”
Another commented:
“I’ve never heard the word, but if you choose to name your cow that, you certainly know what it means. no excuse.”
However, many also came to the 17-year-old girl Tianda Hildebrant’s defense and said they hadn’t heard of the word being used as a racial slur.
What are your thoughts about the Jigaboo controversy?
Should the Wisconsin State Fair officials have taken notice way before the outrage made them take action? Is it just a case of people needing to learn what the term means? Or did they know exactly what it meant, and that’s why they named the cow that?
Let us know in the comments below.
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