*A former Atlanta fire chief believes it was God’s divine plan to have Africans shipped to America to serve as slaves.
Kelvin J. Cochran, who is Black, made the remarks during a lecture last month at a Georgia Department of Labor event honoring Black History Month, NBC News reports.
“Slavery in America did not catch God by surprise,” Cochran said in footage shared on YouTube. “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 added, “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.”
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Fire Chief (Ret.) Dr. Kelvin J. Cochran rose through the ranks in Shreveport, Louisiana, to Fire Chief from 1999 to 2008. Kelvin served as Fire Chief in the City of Atlanta, GA, in 2008-2009 until called by President Obama to serve as the U.S. Fire Administrator 2009-2010. pic.twitter.com/2bwvjihQR5
— National Fire Heritage Center (@fireheritageusa) February 15, 2022
Cochran starts his speech by saying that America “has been a part of God’s divine plan from the beginning of time.”
He also pointed out that slave owners taught their slaves about religion, and that enslaved people often gathered outside church houses to listen to the white man’s sermons.
“Here’s the bottom line — we all came here on different boats, but now we’re in the same boat,” Cochran said. “And if we can only quieten our souls long enough, to look at the sovereignty of God in our history, his goodness and his mercies, we would all cry out together, “I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.’”
“I thank God for America, and I thank God for American history,” he added.
Listen to his speech via the YouTube clip below.
In 2013, Cochran served as fire chief at the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department. He stirred up controversy at the time after giving copies of his self-published Bible study book “Who Told You That You Were Naked?” to subordinates, which included homophobic comments.
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