Dept. Of Sanitation Chaplain Causes Stir Comparing NYC To 'Plantation' At De Blasio Inauguration
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One of the invocations during Mayor Bill de Blasio's inauguration Wednesday raised some eyebrows when the Sanitation Department's chaplain compared New York City to a "plantation."
Rev. Fred Lucas Jr. was one of four people to deliver an invocation during Wednesday's ceremony.
"Free us from the shackles of partisan politics, political correctness and personal egos and agendas," he said. "Let the plantation called New York City be the city of God, a city set upon the hill, a light shining in darkness."
The comparison of New York City to a plantation unleashed a rush of tweets online, with many calling Lucas' comments a disgrace.
But others like Councilman Brad Lander applauded the speech, calling it a "powerful and fearless call for justice."
Invocation by Rev. Fred Lucas was one of the most powerful & fearless calls for justice I've heard. "Break every chain. Break every chain."
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) January 1, 2014
Keith Urbahn, a one-time aide to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he was stunned that the Sanitation Department even has a chaplain.
What stuns me isn't that a chaplain called NYC "a plantation" but that the NYC Dept of Sanitation has a chaplain: http://t.co/6sO7jVRIOd
— Keith Urbahn (@keithurbahn) January 1, 2014
In his inauguration speech Wednesday, de Blasio thanked Lucas and the others who delivered invocations for their words of prayer.
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