AfterElton's Man of the Year: CNN reporter Thomas Roberts

Well, it's that time of year to acknowledge the best and worst of 2006 and we've done just that with the AfterElton Visibility Awards. Our choice for Man of the Year was an easy one: Thomas Roberts, the CNN reporter who came out earlier this year. Yes, there were bigger names who came out--Lance Bass, Neil Patrick Harris, and T. R. Knight. But it was Roberts who came out completely of his own free will and not because bloggers were harassing him or he was inadvertently outed by a co-worker. (Which isn't to take away from the others having come out; we also applaud them for their actions.) Roberts came out because he believed it the right thing to do and because he wanted to be the one thing he never had as a young gay reporter--a role model. Roberts also had the courage to speak out against the priest who molested him as a child and then again this year when that priest received an unconscionably light sentence. For all of this we chose Roberts as our Man of the Year. Follow the link above to see what other shows, movies, books, and musicians we singled out, then come back here to tell us what you thought about our choices and who or what else you'd like to see honored!