His work includes the study and impact of race on US health care, the practice of white parents adopting black and biracial children,[1] religion, sports, politics and other pertinent subject matters of present time.

[4] After graduating from Antioch High School in Nashville, he began his collegiate studies at the LDS Church-owned BYU-Idaho (formerly known as Ricks College).

He later transferred his undergraduate training to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City where he completed his bachelor's degree in Behavioral Science and Health in 1994.

He studies and writes about the emotional toll of being a racialized minority in a white supremacist nation and the impact it has on physical and mental well-being.

Additionally, his work has appeared in Adoption Today, Religion Dispatches, Deadspin,[7] and Your Black World, and he also published op-ed pieces in The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.

[10] Smith has also written about the Ferguson Riots, which began shortly after the death of Michael Brown that sparked a national outcry against police brutality against young unarmed black men and woman.

Choice Magazine recommended the book and called it "an important read for all parents, practitioners, and pundits in the field [of adoption].

"[16] Social Forces wrote that "... the book will surely serve as a valuable resource for parents to help them understand that when forming a family across the color line, love is not enough.

The book tells the story of Brandon Davies' dismissal from Brigham Young University's NCAA playoff basketball team.

Smith also examines athlete's dismissed through honor code violations at BYU, indicating that they are mostly African American.

"[19] Choice Magazine reviewed the book and wrote that "Arguing that the close and complex relationship between race and religion can be uncovered through sports, Smith does a masterful job of weaving together critical race theory, US religious history, and sports to examine institutionalized racism in intercollegiate athletics.