Soldier of Change: From the Closet to the Forefront of the Gay Rights Movement

Soldier of Change: From the Closet to the Forefront of the Gay Rights Movement

Stephen Snyder-Hill, George Takei (Foreword by)
$15.95
Publication Date: March 1st, 2016
Publisher:
Potomac Books
ISBN:
9781612348162
Pages:
240
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Description

When the U.S. military repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” its official policy on homosexuality in the services, Capt. Stephen Snyder-Hill was serving in Iraq. After years enduring the culture of fear and secrecy for gay soldiers, Snyder-Hill submitted a video to a Republican primary debate, asking the participants whether, if elected, they would extend spousal benefits to legally married gay and lesbian soldiers. His video was booed by the audience on national television.

Snyder-Hill’s story riveted the nation’s attention from national news shows to an episode of HBO’s The Newsroom to comments by President Obama. Soldier of Change not only captures the media frenzy as Snyder-Hill took his place at the forefront of this modern civil rights movement but also documents his twenty-year journey as a gay man in the army, which culminated in the most important battle of his life: defending the disenfranchised. 
      
 
 

About the Author

STEPHEN SNYDER-HILL joined the military in 1988 and served nearly three years on active duty in Germany and fought in the first Gulf War in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait before his honorable discharge in 1996. He reenlisted in 2001 and was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn in 2010. Throughout his military career Snyder-Hill received numerous awards and decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal.

GEORGE TAKEI is an actor, social justice activist, and author of Oh Myyy! There Goes the Internet. He is best known for his portrayal of Sulu in the Star Trek television series and movies.

Praise for Soldier of Change: From the Closet to the Forefront of the Gay Rights Movement

“[The story] of how one man’s resolve gave courage to others and how he turned his public outing into an important surge of activism.”—Kirkus 

“A moving and insightful epitaph to a destructive policy.”—Publishers Weekly 
 

 

"[Soldier of Change] is an important story to read if you need to know where LGBT rights have been and who brought them forward. It’s also one to enjoy if you want an informal, easy-to-like memoir. Even in this post-DADT time, Soldier of Change is a book to call for."—Terri Schlichenmeyer, Washington Blade

“Read [Snyder-Hill’s] story and know the price paid for intolerance and the limitless joy of triumph.”—Harvey Fierstein, Tony Award–winning actor and playwright