Black people are mad about racist cow's name at Wisconsin State Fair

A prize-winning cow called Jigaboo was removed from the Wisconsin State Fair recently. The cow was named after an offensive and derogatory racial slur, and caused outrage among locals after its name was shared on social media.

A cow has caused outrage at the Wisconsin State Fair after being named after a racial slur used to insult African-Americans. The cow reportedly won a competition while its name was the racial slur, prompting serious question’s over the fair’s review process as it wasn’t picked up on until a man attending the fair noticed the name.

Wisconsin locals slam State Fair that allowed entry of cow with racist name:
David Blake of Pewaukee, Wisconsin was at the Wisconsin State Fair recently which is an annual event dating back to 1851. While Blake was wandering about, he noticed one particular cow was named after an offensive slur that stopped him in his tracks.

“We’re walking through the dairy barn, enjoying ourselves, and came across the nameplate and was kind of taken aback,” Blake said.

“It’s one of those words, one of those few words that should be totally off limits,” he continued. “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.”

Blake then shared a photo of the cow’s name and posted it to social media. “Shame on the state fair,” he said. “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.”

Milwaukee community activist Vaun Mayes then shared the image on Facebook on August 10. “Ummmm Wisconsin State Fair this s*** has to come down. ASAP. Quit playing in our face. We KNOW this term is derogatory,” he wrote in the message.


Jigaboo meaning explained after cow controversy:
The cow’s name in the Wisconsin State Fair was Jigaboo. According to Merriam-Webster, Jigaboo ‘is used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a black person

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.”

State Fair releases statement over Jigaboo cow name:
After fair organizers got wind of the outrage, they decided to change the cow’s name to Puzzle on the official list of junior show awardees.

In a statement, State Fair spokesperson Tess Kerksen 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.

“We are sorry this happened and was not brought to our attention sooner. We strive to ensure that Fairgoers, exhibitors, staff, and partners all feel welcome at the Wisconsin State Fair.”

The family who owns the cow also issued an apology. “We want to extend our sincere apologies to the Black community, the Wisconsin State Fair and fellow dairy farmers about the racially insensitive term we used to name one of our cows.

“We now recognize that 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.”