Editing W. C. Handy (section)

== Awards and honors ==
[[File:Bronze statue of W.C. Handy in Handy Park, Memphis, TN.jpg|thumb|100px|Bronze statue of Handy in Handy Park, [[Beale Street]], Memphis, Tennessee]]
* In 1931, Handy Park, public park with a stage for live musical performances, was opened by the City of Memphis at 200 Beale St.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Handy Park|url=http://www.bealestreet.com/handy-park|access-date=August 7, 2020|website=Beale Street|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Semien|first=John|date=January 16, 2020|title=Handy Park makeover signals more than an updated venue|url=https://tri-statedefender.com/handy-park-makeover-signals-more-than-an-updated-venue/01/16/|access-date=August 7, 2020|website=TSDMemphis.com|language=en-US}}</ref> The statue in the park honoring him was erected in 1960.<ref name="memphismusichalloffame.com">{{Cite web|title=W.C. Handy {{!}} Memphis Music Hall of Fame|url=https://memphismusichalloffame.com/inductee/wchandy/|access-date=August 7, 2020|website=memphismusichalloffame.com|date=November 10, 2014 }}</ref>
* In 1947, the [[W.C. Handy Theatre]] was opened in Memphis.<ref name=":2">{{Cite magazine |date=April 19, 1947 |title=200G W. C. Handy Theater, Memphis, To Light May 11 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/40s/1947/BB-1947-04-19.pdf |magazine=Billboard |pages=37}}</ref> The building was demolished in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-11-19 |title=Historic W.C. Handy Theater Will Be Demolished |url=https://wreg.com/news/historic-w-c-handy-theater-will-be-demolished/ |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=WREG.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
* The mayor of Yonkers, New York designated December 8-14, 1957 as W.C. Handy Week.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 11, 1957 |title=New Yonkers Will Celebrate W.C. Handy's 84th Birthday |pages=18 |work=The Commercial Appeal}}</ref>
* Handy was the subject of ''[[St. Louis Blues (1958 film)|St. Louis Blues]]'' (1958), a heavily fictionalized biographical film starring [[Nat King Cole]] with [[Eartha Kitt]] and [[Ruby Dee]].
* After Handy's death in 1958, the Domino Lounge in Memphis was renamed [[Club Handy]].<ref name=":22">{{Cite news |last=Donahue |first=Michael |date=March 15, 1985 |title=Yes, 'Sunbeam' is still down at the Paradise |pages=3 |work=The Commercial Appeal}}</ref>
* W.C. Handy Place in New York City is the honorary name for 52nd Street between [[Avenue of the Americas]] and Seventh Avenue.
* On May 17, 1969, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in his honor.
* Handy was inducted in the National Academy of Popular Music [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 1970.
* He was inducted into the [[Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 1983.
* He was inducted into the [[Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame]] in 1985, and was a 1993 inductee into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, with the Lifework Award for Performing Achievement.
* He received a [[Grammy Trustees Award]] for lifetime achievement in 1993.
* Citing 2003 as "the centennial anniversary of when W.C. Handy composed the first blues music" the United States Senate in 2002 passed a resolution declaring the year beginning February 1, 2003, as the "Year of the Blues".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yearoftheblues.org/officialProclamation.asp |title=Year of the Blues 2003 |date=September 5, 2002 |work=107th Congress of the United States, Senate Resolution 316 |access-date=January 31, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207000551/http://www.yearoftheblues.org/officialProclamation.asp |archive-date=February 7, 2005  }}</ref>
* Handy was honored with two markers on the [[Mississippi Blues Trail]], the "Enlightenment of W.C. Handy" in Clarksdale, Mississippi and a marker at his birthplace in Florence, Alabama.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanbluesscene.com/mississippi-blues-trail-recognized-enlightenment-of-w-c-handy/|title=Mississippi Blues Trail Recognized "Enlightenment of W.C. Handy"|last=Marshall|first=Matt|date=December 2, 2013|website=American Blues Scene|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/w-c-handy-florence|title=W.C. Handy Birthplace|website=Mississippi Blues Trail}}</ref>
* [[Blues Music Award]] was known as the W. C. Handy Award until the name change in 2006.
* [[W. C. Handy Music Festival]] is held annually in Florence, Alabama.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wchandymusicfestival.org/ |title=July 18th – 27th, 2014 – Florence, AL – The Shoals |publisher=W.C. Handy Music Festival |access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>
* Another [[W.C. Handy Music Festival (Henderson, Kentucky)|W.C. Handy Music Festival]] is held annually in [[Henderson, Kentucky]] in June.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://handyblues.org/2023-schedule/ | title=2023 Schedule – W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival }}</ref>
* In 2017, his autobiography ''Father of the Blues'' was inducted in to the [[Blues Hall of Fame]] in the category of Classics of Blues Literature.<ref name="HOF">{{cite web|url=https://blues.org/hall/|title=Blues Hall of Fame – About/Inductions – Blues Foundation|website=Blues.org|access-date=January 21, 2018}}</ref>