Black No More, White No More
We follow Harry's grandkids and great grandkids as they grapple with his legacy in their own lives.
The Vanishing of Harry Pace created by Jad Abumrad and Shima Oliaee
It was Motown before Motown, FUBU before FUBU: Black Swan Records. The label founded exactly 100 years ago by Harry Pace. Pace launched the career of Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, and invented the term rock n roll, crafted hits with the father of the blues, inspired Ebony and Jet magazines, and desegregated the South Side of Chicago in an epic Supreme Court battle. Then, he disappeared. The Vanishing of Harry Pace is a series about the phenomenal but forgotten man who changed the American music scene. It's a story about betrayal, family, hidden identities, and a time like no other.
This series was produced in collaboration with author Kiese Laymon, scholar Imani Perry, writer Cord Jefferson, and WQXR’s Terrance McKnight. Jami Floyd is our consulting producer; our fact checker is Natalie Meade. Based on the book Black Swan Blues: the Hard Rise and Brutal Fall of America’s First Black Owned Record Label by Paul Slade. Featuring interviews with Pace's descendants and over forty musicians, historians, writers, and musicologists, all of whom grapple with Pace’s enduring legacy.
This series is also a partnership with Radio Diaries. Special thanks Joe Richman, Nellie Giles, Deborah George and Ben Shapiro.
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free