Poll taxes and Literacy laws were two of the primary ways that some states kept minorities from voting. Poll taxes were set to a point that would not be difficult for White people to afford, but Very difficult for Minorities. White voters would be given something simple to read, and minorities would be given bits of Shakespeare.
Many states removed them voluntarily as they saw the way the mood of the country was moving, and as State Legislatures became more enlightened. However, for those states that did not, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended the practices everywhere for good.
The Twenty Fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, outlawed poll taxes. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the law that outlawed literacy tests.
