Rob Smith is an Iraq war veteran, journalist, author, lecturer and LGBT Activist. He served for 5 years in the United States Army as an Infantryman, earning the Army Commendation Medal and Combat Infantry Badge.

After graduating with honours from Syracuse University, he became a noted journalist, with work published at Salon.com, USA Today, CNN.com and The Huffington Post among many others.

In November 2010, he was arrested with 12 other LGBT military veterans and civilian activists at the front gates of the White House while protesting the U.S. Military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) law, which barred open military service by gays and lesbians. In December of that same year, he was an invited guest of President Barack Obama at the ceremony which saw the repeal of the discriminatory law to be signed and put into effect.

In August of 2012, Rob made his literary debut in the anthology book “For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Was Still Not Enough: Coming of Age, Coming Out, and Coming Home," which won the 2012 American Library Association Stonewall Book Award for Nonfiction and was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award.

He’s currently a freelance writer and regular contributor to The Advocate, Huffington Post Gay Voices and Queerty.com.

LGBTQ, LGBT Awareness Month, Black Heritage, Black History Month, Military, Veteran Affairs