Articles

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, who died April 5, 2024 at age 94, trained 1,000 faith leaders in community development and civic engagement at USC, building on an illustrious career as pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church of Los Angeles.

Rev. Murray has inspired and mentored much of the faith-based community engagement work that continues today in Los Angeles, across denomination and ethnic groups.

Hear the Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, who died April 5, 2024 at age 94, sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” shortly before his retirement from the University of Southern California in 2022.

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 Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray announced his retirement from his second career—as Tansey Professor of Christian Ethics and chair of the Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement—at the University of Southern California. Since his arrival at USC in 2004, Murray trained about 1,000 faith leaders in the “Murray Method,” equipping them to transform their communities, as he had helped to transform South Los Angeles in his first career as a pastor.

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.

Rev. Dr. Cecil L. "Chip" Murray served for 27 years as pastor of the historic First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles and guided Angelenos through the trauma of and recovery from the 1992 civil unrest.

In the wake of George Floyd's death, the United States has been gripped by fury over the nation's persistent racism and police brutality. The unrest is reminiscent of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which erupted after a jury acquitted four police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King. KCET profiled Rev. Cecil 'Chip' Murray, chair of the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, and looked back at his involvement in rebuilding after the riots.

For more than 15 years, I’ve watched as people from all religions and walks of life come to our offices to get a few moments of his time. I’ve seen mothers drag sons by the ear to sit them down for a talking-to at the table of the one who many call Papa.  I’ve seen fellow pastors seek his guidance, political leaders seek his approval, community leaders seek his backing, couples seek his blessing.