Community Organizing
CRCC in the NewsL.A. Times: Najuma Smith on the LAPD Civilian Review ProcessThe Los Angeles Times interviewed CRCC’s Najuma Smith about her decision to volunteer for Los Angeles Police Department civilian review process. The Times investigation found that some reviewers have been chosen repeatedly …Topics: Community Dynamics, Community Organizing, Criminal Justice, Political Attitudes and Values, Race and Culture, Southern California, Violence
ArticleReimagining (Again): Key Lessons on Ministry Sustainability in a Post-Pandemic WorldThe USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC) recently held its first in-person event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019. More than 70 clergy and faith-inspired community …Topics: Community Organizing, Creativity and Innovation, Faith-Based Organizations, Religious Affiliation, Religious Leadership, Social Services, Thriving Congregations
ArticleKumu Hina and Walter Ritte: ‘A very Hawaiian place’This article was originally published by Indian Country Today, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. HONOLULU, Hawai’i — It’s a weekday evening rush-hour in Honolulu, and Hina Wong-Kalu is driving us …Topics: Community Organizing, Engaged Spirituality, Environment, Gender and Sexuality, National and Cultural Identity, Political Attitudes and Values, Race and Culture, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleCarmen Santiago Alonso: In Oaxaca, Indigenous Farmers Mourn Catholic ActivistThis article was originally published by Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. OAXACA, Mexico (RNS) — At Carmen Santiago Alonso’s funeral on Feb. 7, the …Topics: Catholics and Catholicism, Community Organizing, Engaged Spirituality, Environment, Latin America, Race and Culture, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleMônica Francisco: Two women of opposing faiths unite to protect sacred Candomblé spaceThis story was originally published by Christian Science Monitor, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Mônica Francisco and Mãe Seci Caxi do not see eye to eye about God. Ms. Francisco, …Topics: Black Church, Community Organizing, Engaged Spirituality, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleUmar Hakim: Humanitarian Day Reborn for a Ramadan in a PandemicThis article was originally published in The Washington Post and Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Last year, Ramadan ended just days before the murder …Topics: Community Organizing, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, Muslims and Islam, Race and Culture, Spiritual Exemplars
AudioShaily Gupta Barnes: An Anti-Poverty Policymaker Finds New Meaning in Hindu TextsThis radio documentary was produced by KALW’s The Spiritual Edge, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Listen to it on The Spiritual Edge’s website. To hear this and other profiles, subscribe …Topics: Community Organizing, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, Hindus and Hinduism, Spiritual Exemplars
BookReligion in Los Angeles: Religious Activism, Innovation and Diversity in the Global CityReligion in Los Angeles: Religious Activism, Innovation and Diversity in the Global City Edited by Richard Flory and Diane Winston (Routledge, 2021) Why has Los Angeles been a hotspot for religious activism, …Topics: Books, Buddhists and Buddhism, Catholics and Catholicism, Christians and Christianity, Community Organizing, Creativity and Innovation, Faith-Based Organizations, Hindus and Hinduism, Interfaith/Multifaith Movements, Jews and Judaism, Pentecostals and Pentecostalism, Religious Leadership, Southern California
ArticleSunita Viswanath: A New Kind of Allyship with Black Lives MatterThis article was originally published in The Juggernaut, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. When restaurant owner Ruhel Islam said “let my building burn” last month in Minneapolis, he instantly …Topics: Community Organizing, Engaged Spirituality, Faith-Based Organizations, Political Attitudes and Values, Protests and Uprisings, Race and Culture, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleAfrican American Muslims and the LAPD: Moving from Stories to SolutionsThis 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 …Topics: Community Organizing, Criminal Justice, Muslims and Islam, Southern California, Violence