@brutamerica: At 91, Loretta Green wears a piece of voting rights history each time she casts her ballot: her 1960 poll tax exemption certificate. Green, an Air Force veteran who served during the Korean War, was exempt from paying the tax because of her military service. Issued when she lived in Alabama, the document certified that she could vote without paying, a right other voters faced financial barriers to exercise. Under Jim Crow, Southern states used poll taxes alongside literacy tests and intimidation to suppress Black voters. The amounts and rules varied by state. Alabama’s annual tax was $1.50, and unpaid taxes could accumulate, turning two years of payments into $3 and three years into $4.50: an obstacle for people with little money to spare. Poll tax receipts documented payment; exemption certificates like Green’s documented that the holder did not have to pay. The 24th Amendment banned poll taxes in federal elections in 1964. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional in state elections as well. Today, Green uses her certificate to teach younger generations about the barriers Black Americans faced, and the importance of exercising their right to vote. Video with permission via @mani_monroe. #VotingRights #BlackHistory #Midterms2026 #EveryVoteCounts

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Monday 02 November 2026 13:30:02 GMT