J. Irwin Miller

Christian Century, Sept 7, 2004

J. Irwin Miller, an industrialist and philanthropist in Indiana who led the National Council of Churches-coordinated drive for civil rights legislation and was the ecumenical body's first lay president (1960-63), died August 16 at age 95. Miller transformed Cummins Inc., in Columbus, Indiana, from a small firm manufacturing heavy-duty diesel engines into a Fortune 500 company with 250,000 employees in 131 countries.

A member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Miller had priorities that included "keeping the church faithful, relevant and effective," said Bob Edgar, general secretary of the NCC. Under Miller's leadership, the NCC founded the Commission on Religion and Race, which helped sponsor the March on Washington featuring Martin Luther King Jr. Miller shut down the Cummins factory in South Africa to protest that nation's apartheid laws and in 1986 helped write U.S. legislation that led to economic sanctions against South Africa.