NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous announced Sunday that
he's resigning from his post effective December 31.
Jealous, who became the group's youngest-ever leader in 2008, is
credited with boosting the finances and profile of the organization
during his tenure.
“The NAACP has always been the largest civil rights organization
in the streets, and today it is also the largest civil rights
organization online, on mobile and at the ballot box too,” Jealous
said in a written statement. “I am proud to leave the association
financially sound, sustainable, focused and more powerful than ever.”
Jealous said that he wants to spend more time with his wife and
two young children and will pursue teaching at a university.
Under Jealous' leadership, the board of directors of the NAACP
approved a resolution endorsing gay marriage in May 2012.
“Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law,”
Jealous said in a statement at the time. “The NAACP's support for
marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the
United States Constitution and equal protection of all people. The
well-funded right wing organizations who are attempting to split our
communities are no friend to civil rights, and they will not
succeed.”