[Caged monkey on platform with sign reading Congressman Poll Tax" displayed by the NAACP Detroit branch during their "Parade for Victory" march]"

Share

A caged monkey sits on a platform bearing a sign that reads "Congressman Poll Tax," a pointed piece of street theater staged by the Detroit branch of the NAACP during its "Parade for Victory" march in 1944. The poll tax, a fee required to vote in several Southern states, kept many Black citizens from the ballot box, and Congress spent much of the decade debating whether to abolish it. Marchers used satire like this to link the fight against fascism abroad with the denial of voting rights at home, a theme that gained force as Detroit's Black population grew during the war years. The image preserves one of the more inventive ways the organization made its case to the public.

More from the Detroit collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.