* From NAACP Illinois State Conference President George P. Mitchell…

“The NAACP was founded 104 years ago in response to the continuing horrific practice of lynching and the 1908 race riot in Springfield.

While the nature of the struggle may change, our bedrock commitment to civil rights and freedom never will and that includes civil marriage equality. The fight for freedom and equality encompasses all mankind.

We live in a democracy. In our democracy we have the benefit of a Constitution which defines the equal rights which we all share and to which we as a nation aspire. The Fourteenth Amendment to that Constitution says, in part, that no state “shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” and that becomes a significantly relevant issue.

Just 50 years ago, many states would not recognize a marriage between people of different races. Today, we see marriage equality as a civil rights issue and an extension of that fight. Marriage equality is just that – the right to be treated equally in the eyes of the government. What better evidence than the Fourteenth Amendment.

People of good conscience can disagree on this issue. We deeply respect differences of opinion and conscience on the religious definition of marriage, and we strongly affirm the religious freedoms and ceremonial practices of all as protected by the First Amendment.

But, the NAACP will always stand for full equality under the law.”

According to its website, the state conference has no officers from Chicago. That’s a problem because much of the pushback on gay marriage is coming from Chicago ministers.

* And speaking of the ministers, here’s my Sun-Times column…

There was a time at the Illinois Statehouse when using African-American ministers as political props was all the rage.

ComEd touted support from black preachers to pass a bill to raise its rates. AT&T did the same when it passed a major piece of legislation. Before the national real estate and banking crash, the mortgage industry fought a bill to crack down on excessively lenient home loans by putting black ministers up front.

And though the ministers were obviously just doing a bit of payroll shilling, their state legislators took them quite seriously.

ComEd and AT&T won their fights.

The mortgage industry lost, but only because House Speaker Michael Madigan called in every favor he could think of to pass his bill. But then Gov. Rod Blagojevich used his veto powers to basically gut the measure, so Madigan eventually lost and the industry won.

For whatever reason, the big corporations have mostly stopped recruiting African-American ministers to front their causes.

But there’s a new group called the African-American Clergy Coalition that is trying to make some waves in Springfield, and they’re doing a pretty good job.

The group claims on its website that it exists to provide resolutions to problems “affecting the lives of African-American and other oppressed people.”

Right now, though, the only issue the group is tackling is gay marriage. The ministers are against it. Solidly against it, despite the thick irony of declaring support for the oppressed while fighting to deny civil marriage rights to others.

The pastors are doing a very good job so far of intimidating black legislators into backing away from their previous support. Their push has all but halted the momentum of gay marriage backers, who had high hopes when the state Senate approved the bill in February.

Along the way, some of those ministers have picked up a few bucks. For example, Bishop Larry Trotter of the New Century Fellowship International was paid $1,000 out of the group’s new political action committee for “clergy consulting.” Bishop Lance Davis of the New Zion Christian Fellowship Covenant Church was also paid $1,000 for “clergy consulting.”

So far, the group has reported raising $72,000, all of it from the National Organization for Marriage, which was heavily involved in passing California’s statewide proposition that declared marriage to be solely between a man and a woman. NOM is run by white folks who have recently made outreach to the black community a top priority. Polls have consistently shown that African-Americans are not nearly as supportive of gay rights and gay marriage as whites.

Of that significant NOM cash pile, the African-American Clergy Coalition has so far reported spending just $11,250 to actually air radio ads blasting gay marriage.

They don’t really need the ads. For decades, African-American churches have been at the center of black political life. Candidates, black and white, flock to the churches during election time, seeking a few kind words of praise. What the pastors say generally goes.

This is America and church pastors have the absolute right to weigh in on the issues of the day. The prospect of losing their religious tax exemptions is extremely remote because the IRS almost always gives churches the benefit of the doubt.

But the upcoming gay marriage vote here in Illinois is taking place on a national stage. The pastors need to be very careful to make sure they dot all their “i’s” and cross all their “t’s” because a very bright light may be shone in their direction.