Discriminatory voting practices have been a significant issue throughout Black history in the United States. Following the Civil War, the 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870, giving Black men the right to vote. However, Southern states, through the use of tactics such as poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and intimidation, effectively disenfranchised Black voters.

Poll taxes required voters to pay a fee in order to vote, which disproportionately affected poor Black citizens. Literacy tests were used to deny voting rights to those who could not read and write, even though many Black individuals were denied access to education. Grandfather clauses allowed individuals to vote only if their grandfathers had been eligible to vote, effectively disenfranchising newly freed Black citizens.

In addition to these legal barriers, violence and intimidation were commonly used to suppress Black voter turnout. The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups targeted Black voters through threats, harassment, and even murder.

Despite these challenges, Black activists and organizations such as the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference fought against discriminatory voting practices, leading to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This landmark legislation prohibited discriminatory voting practices and has been instrumental in protecting the voting rights of Black Americans.

While progress has been made, challenges to voting rights persist, including voter suppression tactics such as voter ID laws, gerrymandering, and the closure of polling locations in predominantly Black communities. The fight for equal voting rights continues to be a central issue in the ongoing struggle for racial justice in the United States.