Aug 18, 2025
The Pace-Handy Music Publishing Company was one of the earliest African-American owned music publishing companies and an industry leader of the Harlem Renaissance. In addition to publishing W.C. Handy’s songs, the company became an incubator for young talent, including the likes of William Grant Still and Fletcher Henderson. Handy became close to many of the leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance, including Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten. They even published songs with lyrics by Langston Hughes and music by Handy. The photo of the company's office workers was taken in 1920.
Photo: Underwood & Underwood/Wikimedia Commons