By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Saturday, July 18, 2015
CNN is using the power of celebrity in the form of actress Jada Pinkett Smith to draw more attention to child sex trafficking in Atlanta in a special airing Tuesday night July 21.
"As a mother, as a human being," Pinkett Smith intones into the camera as the hour opens, "this is something that is simply unacceptable. I want to show you traffickers, girls affected and the people fighting back against modern day slavery."
Called "Children For Sale: The Fight To End Human Trafficking," the special is a collaboration between CNN's documentary unit and its Freedom Project, a long-term effort that began in 2011 to shed light on a tragic world-wide phenomenon. Over four years, CNN and CNN International have aired more than 400 stories and documentaries on the subject.
Michael Bass, vice president of programming for CNN, said Pinkett Smith is deeply passionate about battling this problem.
"Jada was fully committed," Bass said. "She's a really smart lady. This is not a superficial celebrity appearance, saying a few words, in and out. She's passionate, very knowledgeable. She's an expert. She did the research with our team. She dove in and asked great questions."
Pinkett Smith got involved after her daughter Willow, at age 11, told her about a story she had read about kids her age being traded for sex. Smith didn't believe it until she did her own research and soon became an advocate against the practice. She did the special for no compensation, acting as both journalist and commentator, squeezing time last year in between her acting jobs such as Fox's "Gotham."
At one point, CNN interviewed Pinkett Smith herself. She becomes teary eyed talking about the victims: "They're not throw aways... They are human beings and they are lights and they have power and they have so much to offer if we just have the love and the humanity to give them a chance."
CNN followed Sgt. Torrey Kennedy, head of the Internet Crimes Against Children Division in DeKalb County, as he conducted undercover raids to arrest suspected traffickers and rescue underage girls. Pinkett Smith confronted a convicted female trafficker. And they interview one teen victim who recalled being forced to have sex with almost 40 different men in one night.
Leif Coorlim, who heads the CNN Freedom Project, said human trafficking rings all over the world use similar psychological tactics to draw unsuspecting young girls into their fold. Atlanta, he said, is one of the larger hubs for the sex trade, fueled in part by the size and scope of Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.
He said he hopes specials like this will help people see these girls more as victims than criminals or prostitutes and to stop using terms like "john" and "pimp" for those who lord over them. Instead, CNN used the term "exploiters" or in some cases "child rapists" or "pedophiles."
Dalia Racine, assistant district attorney for DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, is featured in the special. "She's a powerhouse," Coorlim said. "Her entire docket is filled with human trafficking."
Coorlim said progress is being made, especially in Fulton and DeKalb counties. And Gov. Nathan Deal signed a bill in May tightening child sex trafficking laws.
Jane O. Hansen, a former AJC reporter, did a three-part series on this very subject in 2001 for the publication. You can read it here. She also wrote about her experience covering this subject for CNN.
TV PREVIEW
"Children for Sale: The Fight To End Human Trafficking," 9 p.m. Tuesday, CNN
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