It is Friday the 13th in the middle of Black History Month, and if your group chat is anything like ours, somebody has already warned you not to try your luck today. Check out 15 Black superstitions we still swear by inside.Â
Maybe your Aunt told you to pray before you leave the house. Maybe your grandmother reminded you not to sweep over your feet or let your purse touch the floor. For many of us, superstitions are not just quirky sayings. They are living pieces of cultural memory that have traveled from front porches to beauty salons to Sunday dinners for generations.
Long before we had Google and social media to explain eclipses and meteor showers, our ancestors were looking to the sky and the Earth for meaning. As noted in The Root, natural phenomena like solar eclipses were once understood in deeply spiritual ways across parts of Africa. Some communities believed the sun and moon were in conflict during an eclipse, and the moment called for people on Earth to resolve their own disputes. That kind of symbolism reflects how closely our cultural beliefs have always been tied to nature, community, and perseverance.
Over time, those ideas blended with influences from the American South, the Caribbean, Europe, and beyond. According to Revolt, many African American superstitions have roots in ancient civilizations, religious practices, and even wartime history. What may sound like a simple warning — such as not opening an umbrella indoors — can actually trace back thousands of years. What feels like a harmless habit — like knocking on wood — carries echoes of spiritual traditions that honored the sacredness of trees.
These beliefs survived slavery, segregation, migration, and modernization. They were whispered to children before bedtime and repeated at kitchen tables while black-eyed peas simmered on the stove. They became part cautionary tale, part spiritual armor. Even if we laugh them off in public, plenty of us still hesitate before ignoring them completely.
So in the spirit of Friday the 13th and in celebration of the cultural threads that bind us during Black History Month, here are 15 Black superstitions passed down through generations that many of us still believe, at least just a little bit.