Articles

“Joy Comes in the Morning” is a workbook with 14 sermons delivered by the Rev. Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray at First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles.

Watch a conversation with faith leaders who have taken up the mantle from their spiritual (and sometimes biological) mothers and fathers.

Until the pandemic, the Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray was the first person in the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture’s office every morning. Then 90 years old, he would open the gate to welcome guests looking for career or academic mentoring, advice about how to lead a church or take social action, or simply a compassionate ear.

The USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture is launching a new project that seeks to help faith leaders think about their preaching in an ever-changing social and cultural landscape.

Dr. Nikia S. Robert, 42, once thought she would become a pastor of an AME Church but now understands that she has a broader calling—building a faith-based abolitionist movement that centers on Black women.  Her journey to this calling has been personal, social, and academic.

Vice President Kamala Harris recently hosted a roundtable with faith leaders on the state of reproductive health care in the United States. CRCC’s Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard, assistant director of community and public engagement, delivered the following summative comments at the end of the roundtable.

Black leaders and residents of Los Angeles are dealing with stress and trauma after the racially motivated terrorist attack at a grocery story in Buffalo, New York. A self-described white supremacist killed 10 and wounded three others. The Los Angeles Times spoke with the Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard, along with Cecil Murray Center alum the Rev. Stephen "Cue" Jn-Marie.

Like many congregations in the wake of pandemic-era restriction, the first Black church founded in the San Fernando Valley has seen significant declines in membership, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. Membership at Greater Community Missionary Baptist Church in Pacoima has fallen from 200 to 45. The paper turned to CRCC's Richard Flory to understand the decline.

As the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture reflected on the 1992 Civil Unrest, the words and efforts of the Rev. Dr. Cecil Murray following the unrest continued to be highlighted in media stories. CRCC's Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard, the spiritual daughter of Rev. Murray, was interviewed for multiple stories. FOX 11 LA looked back at 1992 and highlighted the way that Rev. Murray has passed along his legacy of community development and civic engagement work to others at the University of Southern California.