A group of African-American pastors have announced a $1 million anti-Obama ad campaign in response to the president’s support of marriage equality. And color us shocked, they’re of course trying to play racial politics while “preaching the word of God” at the same time. More after the jump.

Former National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chairman Julian Bond penned an op-ed aiming to increase the discussion of same-sex marriage within the African-American community. 

The opinion piece was published in Afro-American newspaper, which is notable because the paper circulates in Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Maryland will be the site of a voter referendum on same-sex marriage in November and 25 percent of the state's voters are African-American. 

Check out Bond's piece, "Why Marriage In Maryland Matters" after the jump!

There's been a national trend of African-American voters changing their opinion on same-sex marriage since President Obama came out in support of marriage equality in May, but according to a recent poll there appears to be a decidedly pronounced forward shift in Ohio.

Details after the jump.

With organizations like the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) being intent upon using same-sex marriage as a wedge issue between gay and African-American voters, it’s great to see influential figures within the African-American community stepping up to voice their support for President Obama’s same-sex marriage stance.

Rev. Jesse Jackson (who’s no stranger to controversy), praised President Obama’s decision to support marriage equality, comparing the fight for marriage equality to the African-American fight against slavery and laws restricting interracial marriage.

More after the jump.

A few percentage points may seem insignificant in theory, but when it comes to an election, they can mean the difference between full equality or constitutional homophobia (...just as California). Check out the (surprising?) results just released out of Maryland after the jump.