A former Atlanta fire chief is in the spotlight for his controversial remarks about slavery during a Black History Month celebration.
March 1, 2023, 6:49 PM UTCA former Atlanta fire chief who stirred debate with his homophobic views a decade ago is back in the spotlight this week, following a speech in which he said it was God’s divine plan that “allowed” Africans to be brought to America as slaves.
During a Black History Month celebration Monday hosted by the Georgia Department of Labor, Kelvin J. Cochran, who is Black, took the podium to explain how his religious views conform to the history of the country’s founding. In an unlisted YouTube, Cochran starts his patriotic speech saying that America “has been a part of God’s divine plan from the beginning of time.” Then, midway into his remarks he discusses slavery, alluding that everything in American history is part of “His story.
“Slavery in America did not catch God by surprise,” Cochran said. “In his sovereignty, God … allowed Africans to be brought to America as slaves. Africa was on the eve of social, spiritual and economic catastrophe and famine — still going on today. So, He brought 6 million Africans to America through the Middle Passage as slaves.”
Cochran compared African slavery to slavery in Israel, saying, “Just as it was God’s divine plan to enslave the nation of Israel,” God’s sovereignty “allowed Africans to be brought to America in bondage.” He also cited a verse from the book of Genesis, when God told Abraham his descendants would be enslaved and mistreated for 400 years.
In 2013, Cochran, who was fire chief at the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, gave his subordinates a copy of his self-published Bible study book, “
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