Hermene Hartman’s BHM Series on NBC 5 Unveils Powerful, Untold Stories

For media pioneer Hermene Hartman, Black History Month is about sharing real stories about African-American life that don’t get talked about as often but reverberate to this day. “It’s all about complicating the narrative,” Hartman told The Chicago Defender in a phone interview, “We have to go beyond the slave narratives and the comedic stories.& Hartman, a multiple Emmy nominee, has done just that. She has dedicated her life to telling these stories through her legendary publication N’DIGO, her full-service public relations firm, and, most recently, as the creator and producer of her N’DIGO STUDIO talk show. Hartman’s N’DIGO STUDIO is featuring a five-part, Black History-themed television series on NBC 5 Chicago.& & On Saturday, Feb. 3, her show will premier an episode entitled “The Aftermath of Emmett Till’s Murder,” which features three Black men who were around the same age as Till when he was brutally tortured and lynched for whistling at a White woman. Through her guests’ accounts, viewers get to intimately learn the true psychic and emotional impact of Till’s death and why his case continues to echo through these present times.& I had a riveting conversation with 3 men who remember the slaughter of Emmitt Till....