A councilman in a town in Virginia is facing criticism after commenting that slavery was ended "by the hand of God."

Leesburg town council Thomas Dunn made the comments during a public hearing last week for the proposed town Diversity Commission.

During the hearing, a speaker asserted that the government was not the solution to the problem of racism. In response, Phillip Thompson, local president for National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, asserted that the government had in fact ended slavery and said that, without the US government, he might still be in the fields "picking cotton" as someone's slave.

The NAACP works to protect the civil rights of ethnic minorities in the United States. First organised to support African-Americans, it has since branched out to serve other groups who are facing discrimination in the country.

Dunn chastised Thompson for bringing up the issue of racism in the hearing, but added that it was not the government that ended slavery in the United States but God.

"That was an evil that this country had. It was the hand of God touching the hearts of man that freed those slaves," the Christian News Network quoted the councilman as saying.

"And it's the same hand of God touching the hearts of man that will bring unity within diversity. It's not government," Dunn added.

The councilman eventually abstained from voting for the proposed commission. According to the Christian News Network, Dunn's decision was based on his belief that only God can guide people in how to handle different cultures and races.

"He could have said, 'Go out and create a diversity commission,' but He didn't. He said you go out and love one another, not rely on government to do that," he asserted.