B. J. Stiles
American activist
B. J. Stiles (born February 6, 1933, in Maypearl, Texas) is an American activist who has made award-winning contributions in several arenas: publishing and communications, civil and human rights, and philanthropy. For example, in 1964 he received an award from the Educational Press Association of America for excellence in educational journalism. He was at the forefront of creating and leading private sector responses to HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s. His contributions to private sector responses to AIDS were recognized by President George H. W. Bush in a speech delivered in Washington, D.C., on March 29, 1990.
Journalism career
In the 1960s, Stiles was editor-in-chief of motive (magazine), the official publication of the Methodist Student Movement, based in Nashville, TN, and financially underwritten by the United Methodist Church. He brought such nationally recognized authors, artists, and ecumenical leaders as David Halberstam, Corita Kent, Ross Terrill, William Stringfellow, Harvey Cox, and Michael Novak to the pages of the magazine. Among his readers as college students were Hillary Clinton, Richard Celeste, and hundreds of others whose achievements as academics, politicians and public officials, and faith-based leaders attribute their readership of motive as a life-shaping experience. Along with Life (magazine), he received special recognition from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in their 1967 Magazine-of-the-Year Awards.
"Is God Dead?" and Playboy controversies
In spring 1966, Stiles published an issue of motive, the back cover of which included a satirical obituary written by Anthony Towne playing off of the then-raging theological controversy, Is God Dead?. The mock headline read:
God is dead in Georgia.
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