Hands Across America

Hands Across America was a public fundraising event on Sunday, May 25, 1986, when 5 to 6.5 million people held hands for 15 minutes to form a continuous human chain across the contiguous United States.[1][2]

Hands Across America
Hands Across America at Eakins Oval along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DatesMay 25, 1986
Location(s)Across the contiguous United States
Founded byKen Kragen
Websitehandsacrossamerica.org

Many participants donated $10 each to reserve their place in line. The proceeds were donated to local charities to fight hunger and homelessness and help those in poverty.

The event raised about $15 million for charities after operating costs.

Cities
Hands Across America
Gaithersburg, Maryland, participating in "Hands Across America" in May 1986.

Cities along the route included the following:

The event was conceived and organized by Ken Kragen. Event implementation was through USA for Africa under the direction of Marty Rogol, the founding Executive Director. A theme song, titled "Hands Across America," was played simultaneously on hundreds of radio stations at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time (noon Pacific time). The song was written by Marc Blatte, John Carney, and Larry Gottlieb, and featured lead vocals by session singers Joe Cerisano and Sandy Farina, and the band Toto. The song peaked at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986.

Hands Across America was a project of USA for Africa. USA for Africa produced "We Are the World" and the combined revenues raised by both events raised almost $100 million to fight famine in Africa and hunger and homelessness in the United States.

The date and time chosen for the event inadvertently conflicted with another charity fundraiser, Sport Aid, which was organized by USA for Africa on the same day. Since Hands Across America was much better publicized in the United States, only 4,000 runners participated in New York City for Sport Aid.

Continuity of the chain

In order to allow the maximum number of people to participate, the path linked major cities and meandered back and forth within the cities. There were sections where the "line" was six to ten people deep. Enough people participated that if an average of all the participants had been taken and spread evenly along the route standing four feet (1.2 m) apart, an unbroken chain across the 48 contiguous states would have been able to be formed.The event aimed to raise money to fight poverty and hunger by literally uniting millions of Americans in a single cause: forming a human chain spanning the continental United States. Together, sponsors and corporations accounted for roughly 2000 miles of the 4125-mile chain.

Legacy

Hands Across America raised $34 million. According to The New York Times, only about $15 million was distributed after deducting operating costs.[5]

Hands Across America was featured in the 1992 episode of The Simpsons, "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" as an event which Homer reminisces about sitting on his recently broken couch and watching while the rest of the family and neighbours took part.

Hands Across America was referenced in the 2006 American comedy film Beerfest.

Character Jack Donaghey (portrayed by Alec Baldwin) mentions participating in Hands Across America in the episode "Hiatus" [S01E21] of the television show 30 Rock.

The event figures significantly in the plot of the 2019 American horror film Us, directed by Jordan Peele.

Hands Across America also featured in a 2016 episode of the sitcom The Goldbergs.

See also

References
  1. Wolf, Buck. "Great Shakes: 'Hands Across America' 20 Years Later". ABC News.
  2. NYT Now - The New York Times
  3. "1986: Hands Across America winds through the Hoosier State". WRTV. May 20, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  4. "PAPA DOO RUN RUN - California Beach Party Band - Beach Boys tribute band, Re-creating the hits of the Beach Boys, Classic Rock, Surf music, Surf band, California Music - it's all there".
  5. Adeel Hassan (May 25, 2016). "Your Wednesday Briefing". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2016.

Further reading
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