Section 12 of the 1890 Constitution lists the qualifications that Mississippians had to meet in order to vote. Most Black voters were disqualified because they could not pay the two-dollar poll tax, did not own property, and were at the discretion of county registrars to decide whether they passed a literacy test.
Pictured: A Hinds County tax receipt. Black printed text on yellowed paper, filled out in now-faded ink. The top line of the receipt reads: “Sheriff’s Office, Hinds County, Mississippi, No. 10193.” In the center is the name and address of the poll tax payer, Francis Giambrone of Bolton, Mississippi. On the bottom left is the signature of the deputy tax collector signed in pen. On the right is the signature of the sheriff, who was also the Hinds County tax collector in 1936 when the receipt was completed.
Credit: MDAH Collections
