The NAACP, the oldest grassroots civil rights group in the country for African-Americans, has officially endorsed the LGBTQ-inclusive Equality Act, reports NBC News.

Since 1909, the NAACP has fought on the front lines for racial justice in the United States. The group was a key player in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which formally banned discrimination in housing, education, employment, and other sectors of daily life on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

The Equality Act, reintroduced by Democratic leaders in Congress last Wednesday, March 13, proposes amending the original legislation from 1964 to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes.

“We support what it does, and we support it now,” Hilary Shelton, the NAACP's Washington, D.C., bureau director, told NBC News. “It’s important that it gets through.”

"We believe the same protections that we have worked for so hard over the 110 years of the NAACP should be extended to all Americans, particularly members of the LGBTQ community,” Shelton added.

Shelton's verbal confirmation of the NAACP's endorsement comes two days after former Log Cabin Republicans head Gregory Angelo spoke out against the Equality Act.

In an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, Angelo, a gay conservative, called the bill insulting to African-Americans—and noted that the NAACP was not listed among the organizations in support of the bill.