Poll taxes were a form of voter suppression that disproportionately affected Black Americans throughout U.S. history. These taxes required individuals to pay a fee in order to vote, which was used as a way to disenfranchise African Americans and other marginalized groups.

Poll taxes were used in various Southern states during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a way to prevent Black Americans from voting following the abolition of slavery. The implementation of poll taxes, along with other discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and grandfather clauses, effectively prevented many African Americans from exercising their right to vote.

The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1964, prohibited the use of poll taxes in federal elections. However, some states continued to use poll taxes in state and local elections until the Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional in the 1966 case Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections. This decision declared poll taxes unconstitutional for all elections, finally ending this discriminatory practice.

The legacy of poll taxes in Black history serves as a stark reminder of the systemic barriers that African Americans faced in their fight for voting rights and political equality.