Rev. Cecil L. Murray: A Call to Ministry
Rev. Cecil L. Murray led First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church in Los Angeles for 27 years. In this video, Pastor Murray reflects on his calling to the ministry, from his childhood …
Civic Engagement
The Murray Method of Church Leadership
In his 27-year tenure at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, Rev. Cecil L. Murray transformed a small congregation into a megachurch that brought jobs, housing and corporate investment …
The Economist: Loskota on Religious Freedom at the Border
Activist on the left are using religious freedom–a value often championed by American conservatives–to defend their actions in court. The case of Scott Warren, who was being charged for helping undocumented immigrants …
Maggie Gobran: “Mama” to Thousands of Children in Egypt
Maggie Gobran is both a saint and a social entrepreneur. The daughter of an upper-middle-class family in Cairo’s Coptic Orthodox Christian community, Mama Maggie, as she is known, made the radical decision …
Countering Pessimism and Despair: An Encounter with Two Spiritual Exemplars
As we enter 2019, two emotions seem to be dominant: political pessimism and personal anxiety. These feelings are rooted in the dysfunctions of government and economic instability, both of which are legitimate …
Human Trafficking Reconsidered: Rethinking the Problem, Envisoning New Solutions
Human Trafficking Reconsidered: Rethinking the Problem, Envisoning New Solutions Kimberly Kay Hoang and Rhacel Salazar Parreñas, editors (Abe Books: 2014) This unique collection of original essays investigates …
How Salvation Army’s Red Kettles Became a Christmas Tradition
This article originally appeared on The Conversation. Tinseled trees and snowy landscapes are not the only signs of the upcoming holiday season. Red kettles, staffed by men and women in street clothes, …
KPCC: Najuma Smith-Pollard on Same-Sex Marriage and the Black Church
In 2008, a majority of Black voters helped ban same-sex marriage in California. KPCC talked to Najuma Smith-Pollard, program manager for the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, about whether attitudes …
The Influence of Archbishop Oscar Romero
In this video CRCC’s archives, visit the church where Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated, with guide Richard L. Wood, associate professor of sociology at University of New Mexico. Romero was canonized as …
African American Muslims and the LAPD: Moving from Stories to Solutions
This article originally appeared in BOOM California. “We don’t want to walk into a kumbaya situation,” said Umar Hakim. The sixteen men and women gathered around a conference table in Inglewood simultaneously …