Bad is Black

The Black Things We Fear

Black cats, blacklist, black magic, black people, and more

Kimberly Fosu
7 min readFeb 23, 2021

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A black cat is seen as a witch’s apprentice. (Photo: freestocks-photos)

Evil is Black

“Your shirt is evil! Your shirt is evil,” my little nephews and nieces kept yelling and pointing at my black shirt as soon as I walked in the room. They had worried looks on their faces.

“Uhm okay. What are you guys up to?” I asked as I walked towards them to see what the fuss was about. They were looking at a textbook with a color chart and the meaning of the colors. One meaning listed for black was evil.

From the look on their little faces, they were so surprised that we wear a color that’s evil. If black meant evil, then why would anybody buy anything that’s black?

Then my niece asked what my favorite color was. “Black,” I said confidently.

“Auntie, black can’t be your favorite color. Black is evil!” she said.

My daughter was there too. She was in deep thought about what she’d just learned about the color black. “Mommy, I’m black. Does that mean I’m evil?’’ All the other kids gasped in terror, staring at each other’s black skin.

Right then, I knew I had a huge responsibility to set things straight with the children as I was witnessing them forming beliefs about life.

“Black isn’t evil. It is used to portray evil,” I managed to say unconvincingly.

How do I explain that black can be evil, but not always? I thought to myself while they looked at me to explain further.

I looked at my daughter and my nephews and nieces and said yes black can be sometimes used to portray bad things because of its darkness, but the color itself isn’t evil. If anything, black is magic.

“Magic?” my daughter asked for reassurance.

“Yes, magic. That’s why it’s my favorite color.”

Black conceals rather than illuminates, so black is frightening.

Black as the cover of the night is the perfect time for evil things. (Photo: Susan Cipriano)

The Black Things We Fear

The world has a long history of giving black evil, hostile, fearful, and morbid representations.

The negative association of the color black is seen in the English language where dangerous, bad, or evil things are labeled as black. Here’s a list of black things we fear, hate, avoid, dislike, throw away, run away from, and in the worst situations kill:

The black market is an underground or shadow economy where sales and transactions have some aspect of illegality.

A blacklist is a list of people or things that are regarded as unacceptable or untrustworthy and should be excluded or avoided.

A black box is a flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder that stores an airplane’s data and provides vital information in case of accident investigations.

A black eye is a bruising around the eye because of an injury to the face or head.

The black death/plague was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s killing thousands of people.

Black hand in the olden days involved sending a letter to a victim threatening bodily harm, kidnapping, arson, or murder.

Blackheads are small bumps that appear on your skin due to clogged hair follicles.

Blackmail is an action, treated as a criminal offense demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing damaging information about them to the public.

A black hole is a cosmic body of extremely intense gravity from which nothing, not even light, can escape.

Blackshirt is a member of the armed squads of Italian Fascists under Benito Mussolini, who wore black shirts as part of their uniform.

Blackleg is a strikebreaker who continues working when fellow workers are on strike.

A black ball is a rejection or a vote against admitting someone.

A black mark is a note or record of a person’s misdemeanor or discreditable action.

A blackout is a sudden and temporary loss of consciousness.

Black magic is the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes.

A black mood is a miserable, depressed, and unhappy mood.

Black Monday is the name attached to the global, sudden, severe, and largely unexpected stock market crash on October 19, 1987.

Black site in the united states is covert prisons and interrogation sites for terror suspects in remote areas around the world.

Black people are people of African descent. Research suggests that people have an inclination to perceive someone with darker skin as more likely to have committed an immoral or criminal act.

Black is power, and power is something to be feared.

Nothing says “bad guy” quite like black skin. (Photo: Instagram)

The Black Creatures We Fear

People not only fear black things and people, but black animals also get a bad name.

Black sheep

The negative term black sheep refers to the culling of lambs with darker, undesirable coat colors. In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group. The black sheep of the family is the outcast, seen as different, written off — teased on good days, rejected on the worst days.

Black cats

The black cats are seen as a sign of death and bad luck simply because of their black fur. They were seen as the witches’ apprentices. Sadly, there were mass killings of black cats across Europe as people tried to rid the streets of these bad omens.

Black spiders

Most people are already scared of spiders, and a black one makes it even worse than it already is. If a black spider comes into the house, it is said to be a sure sign of death.

Blackbird

There is a superstitious misconception about blackbirds, especially ravens and crows. Blackbirds are most often associated with death. They are seen as death omen. If you cross paths with a blackbird, say goodbye to your friends and family because death has come to knock on your door. They are also believed to bring messages from the dead.

These black creatures all have negative associations. Although many people assume they are bad because of their blackness, there is no proof about them being evil.

The blackbird is seen as a messenger of death. (Photo: darrenquigley32)

Why Black is Frightening

The night is black. Black as the cover of the night is the perfect time for evil things. Bad people come out to play during the night. Darkness is also black. Creepy things run into the darkness to hide. Shadows are black and evil things lurk in the shadows.

Black conceals rather than illuminates, so black is frightening. Black represents mourning, grief, despair, and sorrow. But black is also the same thing used to heal and replenish.

Black repels and dispels negative energy. Black crystals like black tourmaline, black obsidian, black onyx, and shungite are all used for protection, healing, and to rid one’s self of negative energy and energy cleansing.

Black dispels negative energy. (Photo: Instagram)

Bad is Black is False

Throughout history, black has been tied to death and all things evil. Many use the color black to symbolize negative things. It evokes strong feelings of anger, aggression, fear, and sadness.

Any child can easily find in any textbook the multiple uses of the term “black” in ways that are frightening or evil. These negative ways of symbolizing blackness suggest that the color black is bad or inferior to other colors, but that’s far from the truth. Black has its purpose. Black is good.

The moon comes out at night when it’s dark. Without the night, we would never get to see the moon glow so radiantly in the sky. We’d never see the stars without the night. If there was no night, sleeping would be pretty hard for most people because most people can’t sleep without darkness.

We’d never enjoy sunrises or sunsets, and the oceans would flood the earth because the moon controls the tides. We wouldn’t know how beautiful fireflies were without darkness.

The night is black, and black is cooler. Without the night, we’d struggle in the heat all day long.

If there was no night, there’d be no water for us to drink because all the water would dry up. Just as white and the daytime are important, so are black and the nighttime.

Black is Power

For some, black evokes positive associations including attractiveness, elegance, and sophistication. That’s why so many people choose to wear black clothing when attending a fancy event. And let's not forget the impact of the little black dress.

When it comes to high society, the color black has long been associated with power. From CEOs to tuxedos, to credit cards, to the black panther, black is power, and power is something to be feared.

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Kimberly Fosu

Life Purpose Coach. Currently writing my next book "Who Am I?"