NAACP Endorses Gay Marriage, Ends ?Shameful Myth? About Black Community: HRC

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People officially endorsed gay marriage, ending the shameful myth that African Americans don't support marriage equality, said Joe Solmonese, President of Human Rights Campaign, or HRC.

HRC, a prominent gay rights advocacy group, could not be more pleased, said Solmonese in a press release.

Before the NAACP's endorsement, there was the myth that African Americans were somehow out of lockstep with the rest of the country on marriage equality, he said.

This endorsement could potentially benefit President Obama, who endorsed gay marriage weeks earlier but incurred the displeasure of socially conservative African Americans by doing so.

But now that the NAACP is officially supporting gay marriage, it presents itself as a counterbalance to the influence of the traditionally socially conservative black church, noted the Washington Post.

It can also help establish closer ties between blacks and gays, two of Obama's most loyal constituencies, stated the Post.

NAACP, which passed its pro-gay marriage resolution on Saturday, framed it as a matter of supporting civil rights in America.