Cecil Leonard "Chip" Murray (September 26, 1929 – April 5, 2024) was an American theologian.
Cecil Murray | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 26, 1929 Lakeland, Florida |
| Died | April 5, 2024 (aged 94) Los Angeles, California |
| Education | Florida A&M University Claremont School of Theology (PhD) |
| Spouse |
Lois Bernadine Cousin
(m. 1958; died 2013) |
| Children | 1 |
Biography edit
Murray was born in Lakeland, Florida, the second child of Janie Williams and Robert Murray.[1][2] After his mother died when he was three years old, Murray's father moved Cecil and his two siblings to West Palm Beach, Florida.[1][2] There, his father became a principal of a local high school and remarried.[1][2] During his middle and high school years, Murray became a junior preacher at his church, Payne Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME).[1][3] As a teenager, he and his brother Edward witnessed his father confront three white men who were harassing Black people waiting at a soup kitchen. In response, the white men attacked their father then Cecil and Edward.[1][3] After the incident, Murray's father made a blood oath covenant with his sons, swearing that they would always love and defend Black people.[3]
He became the pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles in 1977.[1] After his retirement in 2004, he was later the John R. Tansey Chair of Christian Ethics at University of Southern California until his retirement in 2022.[1][4][5] Murray died of natural causes in Los Angeles on April 5, 2024, at the age of 94.[6][7]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g Risen, Clay (April 9, 2024). "Rev. Cecil Murray, Leader Amid Los Angeles Riots, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c Woo, Elaine (April 6, 2024). "Rev. Cecil 'Chip' Murray, voice of calm during L.A. riots, dies at 94". The Washington Post.
- ^ a b c Pollard-Terry, Gayle (April 6, 2024). "Cecil 'Chip' Murray, L.A. civil rights icon and spiritual leader, dead at 94". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ "Cecil L. Murray". usc.edu. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- ^ "Cecil Murray". usc.edu. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- ^ "Cecil L. 'Chip' Murray, influential pastor and civil rights leader in Los Angeles, dies". The Associated Press. April 6, 2024.
- ^ "Beloved Pastor Cecil "Chip" Murray Passes Away". Los Angeles Sentinel. April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
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