New York City Mayor Eric Adams kicked off Easter weekend with a jailhouse baptism by Rev. Al Sharpton.
Mayor Adams joined 11 Rikers Island detainees, and was rebaptized by Sharpton and Rev. Herbert Daughtry.
The ceremony was a part Adams’ scheduled visit to the prisoners on Good Friday, according to the Associated Press.
“Having been arrested and then elected mayor, I reminded these young men that where you are is not who you are,” Adams said in a statement.
Adams has said that at age 15 he was arrested, and ended up at the Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in the Bronx. He later graduated from the New York City Police Academy in 1984.
“For the first time in their lives, their mayor didn’t look down at them — I sat side by side with them to be cleansed and recommit ourselves to getting on the right path,” he added.
Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, told the prisoners, “One can be redeemed. Resurrect yourself to overcome any past misdeeds,” according to a press release.
Adams and Sharpton have a long history dating back to “some 35 years of partnership to improve New York City’ Black and Brown communities,” the press release said.
Adams also worked as a bodyguard for the activist during several of his rallies in the 1980s. “I was blessed to rebaptize the mayor and these 11 souls today alongside one of my mentors, Rev. Daughtry, on one of the holiest days of the year,” Sharpton said.
“By being baptized again along [with] 11 detainees, Mayor Adams today reaffirmed his commitment to his faith, to the city of New York, and helping the most broken among us,” Sharpton said.
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