In 1980, US high school student Aaron Fricke  took Cumberland High School in Rhode Island to court for the right to bring a male date to the school prom. It was an extraordinarily brave thing to do given both his age and the social climate of that time. Nonetheless he stuck to his guns and won his case.

From my memory of reading his book all those years ago, it seemed to me that winning the court case was the easy part: the real tension began when he and his date actually attended the prom. Unsurprisingly, all sorts of threats were made – both blatant and implied – before and during the event.

Thankfully the US District Court that handed down the judgement in his favour also said the school had an obligation to ensure the students’ safety at the event. In practice this meant bringing in state troopers.

The original story as described in Reflections of a Rock Lobster was inspiring and educational in itself but it’s also pleasing to note that the event is still having an impact today. One particularly fascinating example of this is on Amazon.com’s US site. A number of Aaron’s former classmates have posted telling comments on the page where his book is advertised for sale. For example:

“Being a graduate of the class of 1980, Cumberland High School, I find it so interesting that I and others who spoke out against Aaron are now living openly gay lifestyles. I enjoyed the book itself because it reminded me of just how anti-gay a gay person can be (i.e. myself). Aaron had guts and was a pioneer for the gay rights movement as we know it today. I only wish that I had the willpower at that stage of my life to have stood up with him rather than condemn him. Thanks for the book Aaron–you did well and we all owe you a debt of gratitude.”

You couldn’t get a much more powerful endorsement of Aaron and his book than that.

But his influence is spreading even further. In March of this year (2012) Boston Children’s Theatre produced and presented the world premiere of a play based on Aaron’s experiences.