Superstitions are practices an ideas that have been around for centuries. These practices will have one throwing a fit if not acted on correctly. This is especially prevalent in the black community. One of the biggest superstitions in our culture is known as “splitting the pole.” If you find yourself walking down the street with another black person and suddenly an obstruction, like a pole, pops up in your path, don’t split it. Like most superstitions, this is believed to result in bad luck if the pole is not split. Splitting the pole is a very common superstition that people believe has consequences, and superstitions in general are believed psychological effects behind them.
As already stated, superstitions have been passed down for generations. No one really knows where these theories came from, but they seem to just have always been there. As also already stated, if not followed, they are believed to bring bad luck. However, if one is somewhat of a daredevil, then this practice really doesn’t matter. This is an interesting turn seeing that some would have outrages if they see superstitions not being followed.
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“It was all innocent and fun as a kid, but did you know this superstitious saying that originated in the late 19th century was knee-deep in racism,” said author Veronica Wells in "Pole Splitting, Fish Dreams & Palm Itching".
This is another interesting fact seeing that most practices passed down in the black community come from slavery and from racism in general. The black community seems to have a way of turning negatives into positives even with superstition. Most of these theories come from protecting one another. As the same when it comes to splitting the pole. This act is to protect one another from unnecessary plagues.
“Then there was that one time I attempted not to split the pole, but ended up walking into it,” said Lindsey Callahan in her article for MadameNoire, "Black Folk Can't Let Go". This plays into the psychological aspect of this superstition. Callahan felt as if she would have split the pole she wouldn’t have ran into it, but that isn’t necessarily true. “That is, if two people are walking down the street, they shouldn’t each walk around a different side of a lamppost, telephone pole, or mailbox. But if they do, there’s a remedy: just say bread and butter!" According to this theory, if one does in fact split the pole then by saying this phrase the bad luck will not come upon you.
In the end, one can see that superstitions are only real if you believe them. The mind is a dangerous place, and whatever you believe manifests. So with that being said, if you believe in bad luck from breaking a superstition then it will come into pass. Growing up in a black household, superstitions are very popular. However, these need to be stopped because they can cause stress and fear. All in all, splitting the pole is a superstition that can be fixed altogether by avoiding poles, and other obstructions coming from the ground.
