Aaron Fricke

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Aaron Fricke
Born (1962-01-25) January 25, 1962 (age 62)
Occupation(s)Activist, author

Aaron Fricke (born January 25, 1962) is an American

gay rights activist and author. He was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He is best known for Fricke v. Lynch
, a legal case in which he won his first amendment legal right to attend prom and for his autobiography Reflections of a Rock Lobster in which he details growing up gay culminating at that high school dance.

Court case

Shortly after he

Raymond J. Pettine, ruled in Fricke's favor, ordering the school to not only allow him and his partner to attend as a couple but also to provide enough security to ensure their safety.[1] The case received considerable media attention,[2] and news camera crews filmed and interviewed the couple at the dance.[3]

The case set a precedent that has been used across the United States to establish a legal right for students to bring same sex partners to school proms and other school social events.[4]

Writing

Fricke later wrote of his experience in a book, Reflections of a Rock Lobster: A Story about Growing Up Gay.[5] He later collaborated with his father, Walter, on Sudden Strangers: the Story of a Gay Son and his Father,[6] a book about their relationship and of the elder Fricke's coming to terms with his son's homosexuality. That book was published shortly after Walter Fricke's death from cancer in 1989. In 2012 and 2013, Boston Children's Theatre presented a play based on the book, adapted by Burgess Clark. The play received national attention for its anti-bullying message.[7] BCT became the first children's repertory theater in the United States to portray gay rights issues with this production.[8]

Mr. Fricke's archive includes correspondence and the period of writing the two books, is held in the San Francisco Public Library.[9]

See also

References

External links