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  • Los Angeles Times

    Cecil ‘Chip’ Murray, LA civil rights icon and spiritual leader, dead at 94

    by Gayle Pollard-Terry, Los Angeles Times Apr 06, 2024 8 minutes
    Rev. Cecil L. Murray during a 2004 service at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles.

    LOS ANGELES — The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, who made the First African Methodist Episcopal Church the most prestigious Black pulpit in Los Angeles, attracting presidents, governors and mayors to hear his dynamic sermons, has died.

    Murray died of natural causes Friday evening at his home in the View Park-Windsor Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles County, his son Drew Murray said. He was 94.

    “He was a man who gave God his all,” he said. “He was a devoted husband, and a loving and caring father.”

    Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement honoring Murray’s legacy.

    “Today we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things,” Bass said. “I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel. My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever.”

    During his remarkable 27-year tenure as senior minister, Murray built the First AME congregation from several hundred members to more than 18,000 worshipers whose support was often courted by elected officials and political candidates.

    Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton visited while Murray was in charge. California governors Pete Wilson, Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke from the pulpit. Los Angeles Mayors James K. Hahn and Richard Riordan stopped by regularly,

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