Archive
LA Times: Najuma Smith-Pollard on Human Kindness and Grief During a Pandemic
Amidst a devastating pandemic with a rising death toll, the Los Angeles Times shares stories of human kindness and grief in an article that features an interview with Najuma Smith-Pollard, Program Manager …
KCRW: Farrag on the Role of Spirituality and Prayer in the Black Lives Matter Movement
Is Black Lives Matter a spiritual movement? In KCRW’s weekly podcast, Life Examined, Jonathan Bastian talked with Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and Professor of Pan-African Studies at …
Religion’s Role in Social Change – Council on Foreign Relations
How can the religious community in America influence social change? Najuma Smith-Pollard, program manager of the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, joined Ruth Messinger, former president and current global ambassador …
Can America Change?
Amid protests against police brutality, a pandemic and a strained economy, Najuma Smith-Pollard, program manager for the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, joined several religious leaders to reflect on a …
Justice We Shall Pursue: Building the Beloved Community
CRCC’s Najuma-Smith Pollard joined two other faith leaders, Reverend Mark Whitlock (Reid Temple A.M.E. Church) and Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson (Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles), to discuss the …
JSTOR Daily, RNS, Religion Unplugged: Hebah Farrag on Healing, Spirituality, and Black Lives Matter
How does the Black Lives Matter movement intertwine with healing and spirituality? JSTOR Daily uses CRCC’s Hebah Farrag’s 2018 article “The Spirit in Black Lives Matter: new spiritual community in black radical …
Voice of America: Najuma Smith-Pollard on Police, Racism and Change
Voice of America interviewed several black pastors, including USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement program manager Najuma Smith-Pollard, on their experiences of racism and thoughts on change in the wake of …
The Catholic Spirit: Najuma Smith-Pollard on Floyd’s Death and Protests
Catholic News Service (published in Crux, The Catholic Spirit, and News Break) spotlights Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs webinar, co-sponsored with CRCC. In the webinar, faith leaders, …
KCET on Rev. Cecil ‘Chip’ Murray: The Reverend Who Led the Rebuilding of South L.A. After the 1992 Riots
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 …
NBCLA’s Virtual Town Hall: Najuma Smith-Pollard on Fighting for Real Reform and Solutions Against Racism
Rev. Najuma Smith-Pollard, program manager for the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, participated as a panelist for NBCLA’s Virtual Town Hall, “The Time is Now: Rooting Out Racism.” The conversation …
Stand in Power, Speak in Power, Live in Power: Smith-Pollard on the Death of George Floyd
Najuma Smith-Pollard shared the following remarks at a press conference with the mayor of Los Angeles about the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the protests and civil unrest in …
Religion News Service: Richard Flory on Young Adults Leaving Religion
Young adults are leaving organized religion in high numbers. Religion News Service spoke with co-authors Melinda Lundquist Denton and CRCC’s Richard Flory on the findings in their new book about the changing …
USC Institute of Armenian Studies: Unpacking Armenian Studies with Dr. Donald Miller
CRCC’s Donald E. Miller appeared on New Roads, a podcast by the Institute for Armenian Studies at USC. He talks about the oral histories of Rwandan and Armenian genocide survivors, as well …
LA Times: CRCC on the Impact of Covid-19 on Religious Groups
Mosques generally raise a significant portion of their funds during Ramadan. But due to Covid-19, people are not coming in to pray and break fast together. The LA Times interviewed Brie Loskota on …
VOA News: Rwandan, Armenian Genocides Remembered in April
April 7 marks the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide. To mark the day, Voice of America featured Donald and Lorna Miller’s new book, Becoming Human Again: An …
Deseret News: Flory on Justin Bieber’s Christianity
Why does it seem that everyone is buzzing about Justin Bieber’s faith? Deseret News interviewed Richard Flory on the allure of celebrity Christians. Here is an excerpt: That’s been the case for …
Washington Post & RNS: Flory on Pentecostal Church’s Attempt to Resurrect a Child
Hundreds of congregants attempted to resurrect a 2-year-old girl with song and dance at Bethel Church in Redding, California. The Washington Post and Religious News Service interviewed Richard Flory on Pentecostal beliefs …
Times Free Press: Loskota on Role of Presidential Religious Advisers
Why are presidents allowed to have spiritual advisers? The Chattanooga Times Free Press published an explainer about the constitutionality of spiritual advisers. The story quotes CRCC Executive Director Brie Loskota about the …
Podcast: Walking Through an Unbalanced World with Brie Loskota
CRCC’s Executive Director Brie Loskota was interviewed on IndoctriNation, a podcast “covering cults, manipulators, and protecting yourself from systems of control.” She shared her perspective about leadership and change-making, based on her …
RNS: Richard Flory on Christian Nationalists
An emerging group of leaders are combining conservative Christianity and nationalism. Religion News Service wrote about Michael O’Fallon, the CEO of Sovereign Nations and owner of Sovereign Cruises and Events LLC, which …