"I was saddened to hear about Jay, he was a great advocate. I met Jay in 1968 when I was in the journalism program at Southern Illinois University. I cannot remember why Jay was in town, but it was my job to do a quick interview for the school paper. Jay was very engaging and his positive approach and passion for doing the right thing made me want to join the ACLU. That was a long time ago, but I never forgot Jay and will always think of him as the personification of the ACLU."
- John Fisher
Jay Miller was in charge of the 1964 successful Martin Luther King "I care I'll be there" rally at Soldier's Field . He was on loan from the American Friends Service League and I was on loan from the Jewish Community Centers to do the publicity. We started from nothing, a rag tag group of young inexperienced liberals to bring Dr. King for his first Chicago rally. Afterwards Jay and I stood on the empty field as 75,000 people walked out and Jay picked me up and shouted, "We did it." It was one of the most memorable and proudest moments of our lives. That was the first time Jay and I met and the beginning of a long friendship and work relationship.
- June Rosner
I met Jay in the late 1960s, when I served on the Freeport Human Relations Commission. We had some problems and questions to be answered in Freeport at that time, so I called the ACLU – and Jay answered the phone himself! He offered to come to Freeport to talk with us and hold some workshops…he came about three or four times.
Years later, in 2003, my husband and I moved to Evanston. My cousin, Marcy Brower, lives there and we became reacquainted with Jay after all these years.
- Lillian Osran