FRONTLINE: THE LOST CHILDREN OF ROCKDALE COUNTY (TV)
Summary
One in this documentary series. This program documents the social problems surrounding teenagers in a small town in Georgia.
On May 20th, 1999, a school shooting took place in the small town of Conyers, Atlanta. Frontline had been investigating the teenagers of that town for some time, documenting their social problems and other issues, such as the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Conyers is the only town in Georgia’s Rockdale County, not far from Atlanta. In 1996, during preparations for that year’s Summer Olympic Games, an outbreak of syphilis occurred in Conyers, mostly among teenagers. This proved shocking to the medical community as the area was a middle-class mostly white community, and several of the infected were very young girls. Cynthia Noel, a nurse at the county hospital, recounts her discovery of the outbreak and how they tracked its spread via one girl who had numerous sexual partners. The outbreak had a great deal of range due to the extreme promiscuity of many teenagers in the area, surprising the medical officials in charge. Claire Sterk, a professor at the Emory University School of Public Health, interviewed the infected teenagers and found that group sex of many varieties was common amongst them. They were surprised at the number of sexual partners that the teenage girls involved had. The teenagers did not seem to take the epidemic seriously, distressing their parents. Researchers noted that the outbreak made no distinction between social or economic class, and that in many ways they were indistinguishable from any ordinary teenager in the community.
The outbreak’s beginnings were traced to a single group of friends, comprising a “cross-section” of the community. They started engaging in criminal behavior, such as defying the town’s curfew and shoplifting. Several of the teenagers recount their experiences, including their motivations behind the friendships they cultivated and their relative financial and social independence. Some, driven by the desire to be “popular,” would organize lavish parties, replete with alcohol. Some rented motel rooms in order to engage in sexual activity, and it was known that teenage girls would frequently get “passed around” from one boy to another. Some viewed it as something of a means of social interaction and a “game.” This was all kept secret from the adults of the town, who were often too busy to be fully apprised of their children’s activities. Peggy Cooper, a retired middle school guidance counselor, recounts how her students would describe their various sexual activities. Over time, the teenagers involved and several officials recount how the girls involved eventually came to regard the activity as a compulsion, and that they were mistreated by some of the boys involved. In many cases there is an issue of a desire to be accepted socially by others at the school, albeit in a subtle fashion.
Several of the teenagers recount their specific stories, such as Amy, who was initiated into sex and alcohol due to rejection from her former friends. Her father talks about how close they were before that, as he coached her in softball. She mentions that she felt bad about having few friends and that she was a “different person” while consuming alcohol. Her father Frank believes that this is partially his fault for not encouraging more cohesion amongst their family; he wishes that he communicated with her more often. D.J., another teenager, recounts how his mother was emotionally devastated when his father left the family. He felt isolated from his family and sought acceptance from his friends as a substitute. He recounts one incident in which he became extremely drunk and stabbed another boy in the spine. The boy lived and did not press charges against D.J. In his drive to prove himself he instilled fear in his peers. He joined up with a “gang” of kids led by another boy named Miguel, who is notorious amongst the Rockdale County police for criminal activity; his periodic prison stays made him a focus of both derision and admiration amongst other teenagers. Miguel recounts that he was essentially paid by D.J. to be his friend, an arrangement that he accepted; D.J. refers to him as his “big brother” at the time.
Sterk notes that part of the sexual activity was rooted in the racial divides still permeating the community; there is still a stigma against relations between white women and African-American men, a barrier which was disregarded in the sexual activities of the Conyers teenagers. Amy recounts an incident in which she and a friend got drunk and engaged in group sex with several other guys while she was supposed to be babysitting her nephew. The nephew reported this incident to her father, who was distraught and at a loss at what to do in response. Amy herself was “mortified” and felt immense regret at her own behavior. By April of 1996, the syphilis outbreak was contained and the larger issue of the behavior which allowed it to spread was beginning to be addressed. In early 1997, the county health department called a town meeting to discuss the issue. The parents in the community were initially incredulous that such extensive sexual behavior could be going on without their knowledge. They looked to various explanations to explain the behavior, but the health officials involved believed that the fault was with the parents themselves and their lack of communication with their children. The community was described as being “in denial,” and further investigation into the matter was largely discontinued.
Wes Bonner, a local pastor, talks about the societal issues permeating the teenagers of the community. His son Britt is the lead singer of popular local Christian rock band Throne, and he recounts that his concerts became something of a haven for the “lost kids” of the community. It was especially popular during the height of the syphilis outbreak; D.J. recounts distancing himself from his friends and becoming a voracious churchgoer. However, eventually D.J. became frustrated with a lack of “tangible” results from his faith, and he felt that God had failed him. Kevin, another teenager, also became disenchanted with Throne; he is afforded a great deal of freedom from his parents, living in their pool house. His father Steve believes that teenagers deserve a certain amount of freedom; his mother Catherine disagrees but feels that she can no longer control her family and is tired of fighting them. Their family changed when Kevin’s friend Keith came to live with them after being largely abandoned by his single mother. Keith was very much admired by Kevin and his family for his easygoing and “jolly” nature. In the summer of 1998, Keith drove Kevin down to Panama City, Florida with their friends, a popular getaway spot for teenagers. Thousands of them crowded around the beaches there and were “drunk the entire time,” in the midst of constant fighting and sex in all places. During the vacation Keith went for a drive by himself, fell asleep at the wheel, crashed the car, and eventually died from his injuries. This deeply affected Kevin and his family, and Kevin withdrew from his partying lifestyle.
Several teenagers discuss their regular activities; there are few outlets in town for social gatherings or material distractions. The police are often strict with lawbreakers and there is shame attached to sexual misconduct. The school has a sex education program stressing abstinence, and a few students choose to embrace these ideals, isolating them from their peers. They are often sent to private Christian academies, as they feel that other teenagers are “intimidated” by their presence and they are ostracized. In Conyers, discussions of sex and sexual activity are quite common amongst teenagers, and they report that girls lose their virginity at quite young ages. One girl, Heather, often left alone due to her mother’s corporate job, recounts one night when she blacked out at a party after drinking heavily, and woke up to discover that she had been raped. Following this incident she became more involved in drugs and alcohol. Her mother eventually quit her job and started her own company in order to spend more time with Heather; communications between the two of them are still strained, but Heather has made efforts to reign in her behavior and describes herself as a “born-again virgin.”
The school shooting takes place on May 20th, just as Frontline is conducting their final interviews. It occurs at Heritage High School, where Frontline had recently conducted interviews; armed with a .22 caliber rifle and a revolver, the culprit wounded six of his fellow students. By all accounts, the shooter is an ordinary teenager with no especially unusual qualities, making the reason for the shooting a mystery.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WGBH Boston, MA
- DATE: October 19, 1999 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:26:46
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:75789
- GENRE: Public affairs/documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/documentaries
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1983-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Michael Sullivan … Executive Producer
- David Fanning … Executive Producer
- Trina Quagliaroli … Coordinating Producer
- Robin Parmelee … Coordinating Producer
- Sharon Tiller … Senior Producer
- Rachel Dretzin Goodman … Producer, Director, Writer
- Barak Goodman … Producer, Director
- Dana Reinhardt … Researcher
- Paul Mertens … Music by
- Susan Voelz … Music by
- Mason Daring … Music by
- Martin Brody … Music by
- Will Lyman … Narrator
- Kathleen Toomey … Interviewee
- Cynthia Noel … Interviewee
- Claire Sterk … Interviewee
- Beth Ross … Interviewee
- Peggy Cooper … Interviewee
- Randy Poynter … Interviewee
- Wes Bonner … Interviewee
- Britt Bonner … Interviewee
- Keith Aiken … Interviewee
- Keith Pierce