Roy Moore.jpg

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.

(Julie Bennett/AL.com)

A group of Christian pastors will present an award named for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail Friday to Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, in recognition of his efforts to stop same-sex marriage in Alabama.

The Coalition of African-American Pastors announced Thursday that Moore would receive their inaugural Letter from a Birmingham Jail Courage Award to recognize his "dedication to justice and natural law," according to a news release.

The award ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday on the steps of the Alabama Supreme Court in Montgomery.

The Rev. William Owens, the president of the Coalition, commended Moore's February memorandum to probate judges about the issue of same-sex marriage in Alabama.

"By making a principled and persuasive stand for marriage, Justice Moore has singled himself out as someone who is ready to defend our most cherished values and help lead this new civil rights movement," Owens said in the news release. "By his words and actions, he has helped preserve marriage, the family, justice, and the spirit of democracy."

The website for the Coalition of African-American Pastors describes the group as "a grass-roots movement of Christians who believe in traditional family values such as supporting the role of religion in American public life, protecting the lives of the unborn, and defending the sacred institution of marriage."