Poll taxes were a form of voting restriction that played a significant role in disenfranchising Black Americans in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These taxes required individuals to pay a fee in order to vote, effectively serving as a barrier to prevent Black citizens, who were largely impoverished due to systemic racism and discriminatory practices, from exercising their right to vote.

Poll taxes were used primarily in the Southern states as a means of suppressing the political power of African Americans following Reconstruction. The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1870, guaranteed the right to vote regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude," but Southern states implemented various tactics, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses, to discourage or prevent Black citizens from voting.

One of the most infamous instances of poll taxes was the poll tax in Virginia, which remained in effect from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century. In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections that poll taxes for state and local elections were unconstitutional, citing the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

The abolition of poll taxes was a significant victory for civil rights activists and Black Americans, as it removed a major barrier to voting rights. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further dismantled discriminatory voting practices, including poll taxes, and sought to ensure equal access to the ballot for all citizens.