Who is Theodore Somes?

Br. Theodore Somes, OSL is a 23 year old seminarian from the Greater Pittsburgh region. After being assaulted at Gettysburg National Military Park on July 4, 2020 by militias and white supremacists for wearing a shirt with the words "Black Lives Matter," a video of the altercation went viral, and his advocacy has been covered by The Washington Post, USA Today Network, DailyMail, New York Daily News, DailyKos, United Methodist News Service and more.

 

Theodore was born in Montgomery, Alabama to a military family that moved to Okinawa, Japan and Honolulu, Hawai'i before eventually settling in Pittsburgh, PA. Theodore is a Brother in the Order of St. Luke and Webscribe of the Hoyt-Hickman Memorial Chapter.

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Theodore studied Political Science and Religious Studies at Washington & Jefferson College, in Washington, PA and is now pursuing an MDiv at Virginia Theological Seminary. He was the President and Co - Founder of the Interfaith Leadership Club at W&J. He also served as a WPAUMC summer intern in Clairton, PA and in Monroeville, PA.

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Politically, Theodore previously ran for Washington City Council, served as the President and Vice President of the W&J College Democrats and was the Field Director for the Committee to Elect Clark Mitchell. Before his switch to the Democratic Party, Theodore worked in the Libertarian Party, founding the Libertarian Youth Caucus and sitting on the Libertarian National Committee where he was influential with the creation of the #ReRegister national voting drive, the first of its kind for the Party. He was also the coordinator for the Gary Johnson for President campaign in Westmoreland County.  

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In his (very) limited free time, Theodore enjoys playing the mandolin and outdoor activities.