HARAMBE TV actually has its roots in the two-time Emmy-nominated public TV series, HARAMBE, which debuted on Service Electric Cable TV in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania in September, 1992. The series originated out of a protracted struggle with two local cable companies to air Black Entertainment Television, spearheaded by series creator, Chuck Penn, Sr. The effort failed, initially, but resulted in a challenge to Penn by Service Electric Cable TV to create a positive local program for the black community. Penn took the challenge and immediately began putting the production together while working as a production technician at WLVT-TV, a local public TV station.

The initial season had a number of shows, which largely featured local people. Most noteworthy guests included the appearance of jazz great and The Tonight Show band leader, Kevin Eubanks, and actor Chuck Patterson of the movie The Five Heartbeats. The stint on SECTV was short-lived, with the cable company deciding to air BET after all and announcing that they would drop Harambe, citing expenses. Undaunted, Penn approached the GM of WLVT-TV, Sheldon P. Siegel, and the station agreed to pick up the series.

Production began in the summer of 1993, with the first of nine shows airing in September. Some of the featured segments included Were the Ancient Egyptians Black and Afrocentricy and Multicultural Education with Temple University professor Molefi K. Asante; Does TV News Have a Negative Impact on Racial Perceptions and Race Relations with communications scholar Robert Entman; Pan Africanism with noted historian Dr. John Henrik Clarke, and The BCA versus the NCAA, an half-hour documentary-style program focused on the impact that Proposition 48 academic standards was having on African-American collegiate athletes. The series garnered an Emmy nomination in its first year from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Philadelphia region.

The second and final season featured segments, Justice or Just Us, a profile of the devastating impact of cocaine sentencing disparity; The Hate Movement, featuring Floyd Cochran, a former recruiter for white supremacist group Aryan Nation; The Bell Curve, featuring Temple University scholar, Terry Kershaw; a one-hour special profiling the Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Weekend, and A F.A.I.R. Critique, a profile of media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.   

Controversy abounded at the end of Harambe’s second season at WLVT over an internal dispute at the station, resulting in loss of revenue and the station’s first layoff in its history. Penn was its biggest casualty. Since Penn had created, produced and hosted the series and was now unemployed, the series came to a screeching halt, much to the chagrin of loyal and vocal HARAMBE supporters.

The cancellation of the series drew loud and public protest and became a cause celebre, with continuing media coverage and a series of meetings between station management and community leaders. But to no avail.

Weeks later, HARAMBE earned its second consecutive Emmy nomination. Despite its relative short life and its premature demise, HARAMBE raised a lot of eyebrows and opened a lot of minds in the greater Lehigh Valley and suburban Philadelphia.

As you'll take note, this snapshot in time, this revolutionary and groundbreaking series, still reverberates to this day. Hence, its only a matter of time before its return.