Hands Across America was a public fundraising event held on Sunday, May 25, 1986, Memorial Day weekend, which attempted to create a continuous human chain of people holding hands across the contiguous United States. While approximately 5 million people participated, the chain was broken in many places, particularly in the Southwestern desert. The number of participants would have been roughly sufficient to create an unbroken chain if they had been spread out evenly along the planned route, but most joined the chain in major cities and few traveled to more remote areas. The various gaps in the line between participants were filled using ribbons, ropes, or banners.
Participants were encouraged to donate $10 to be assigned a place in the 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, significantly less than organizers had hoped to collect.
Event Conception and promotion The event was promoted and organized by Ken Kragen, a co-founder of USA for Africa, the charity organization which produced "We Are the World" in early 1985 to raise money to fight famine in Africa. Kragen described Hands Across America as "a logical extension" of the "We Are the World" effort, focusing on the issue of hunger in the United States. Kragen said the idea was first suggested to him by advertising executive Geoff Nightingale at a New York City Ballet performance of "We Are the World".McDougal, Dennis. "Hands Across America: Can Ken Kragen Make It Work?", Los Angeles Times, November 24, 1985, Calendar, page 5.Hands Across America, May 25, 1986, Pocket Books, 1986. Hands Across America was first publicly announced at a Manhattan press conference on October 22, 1985, featuring Kragen and videotaped messages from Bill Cosby, Kenny Rogers, and Pete Rose. At that time, it was stated that planning for the event had been underway for five months. Coca-Cola agreed to sponsor the event, covering an estimated $18.8 million in operating costs.Rosenberg, Carol. "Latest hunger-relief event: human chain of 6-million", United Press International, via the Tampa Bay Times, October 23, 1985, page 2D.Hinckley, David. "Handy idea", New York Daily News, October 23, 1985, page 4. More than 700 other companies, including CitiBank, McDonald's, Ticketmaster, and Safeway, sponsored and marketed the event.
Hands Across America was unrelated to a previous, unsuccessful project of the same name which attempted to organize a human chain across the country to mark the Bicentennial on July 4, 1976. The 1976 plan was unable to raise enough funds and succeeded only in setting up approximately 8 to 10 miles of chains in and around Chicago.Van, Jon. "Hands across America falls far short of goal", Chicago Tribune, July 4, 1976, Section 1, page 8. USA for Africa organizers said that they had never heard of the earlier effort until after announcing their plan. Marvin J. Rosenblum, who had conceived of the idea in 1975 and spent a year trying to bring it to fruition, said he found it "hard to believe" that no one in the organization remembered his heavily promoted campaign. However, he was unable to take legal action because his trademark on the name "Hands Across America" had since expired.
A theme song entitled "Hands Across America" was written for the event and was unveiled at a West Hollywood press conference on January 16, 1986.McDougal, Dennis. "Stars Ante Up for Hands Across America", Los Angeles Times, January 17, 1986, Part II, page 10. 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. On January 18, dozens of celebrities joined hands with hundreds of locals on the main street of Taft, California to film a music video for the song, which was set to first air during the Super Bowl XX halftime show the following week.Churm, Steven R. "All of Taft's a Stage – and Proud of It", Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1986, Part I, pages 3 and 34. However, Michael Jackson intervened at a USA for Africa board meeting days before the Super Bowl to insist that "We Are the World" should be played during the broadcast instead.McDougal, Dennis. "'Hands' song in limbo at Jackson's urging", Los Angeles Times, January 28, 1986, Calendar, pages 1 and 5. As a result, while portions of the Taft video were seen during the halftime show, the "Hands Across America" song was not heard.McDougal, Dennis. "USA for Africa: A Shift Back to the USA", Los Angeles Times, January 26, 1986, Calendar, pages 3 and 4. The song was distributed to approximately 8,000 radio stations for a nationwide simulcast on the morning of Good Friday, as had been done with "We Are the World" on Good Friday 1985.McDougal, Dennis. "The good 'Hands' people look again to radio", Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1986, Calendar, pages 1 and 6. "Hands Across America" ultimately peaked at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100.Billboard Hot 100, Week of May 17, 1986, Billboard, Web.
Individual participants in Hands Across America were asked to donate $10 for the opportunity to join the chain, although many people who had not paid joined the line anyway. Celebrities and companies could sponsor portions of the line at a cost of $13,200 per mile, since it was estimated that 1,320 people would be needed to cover a mile of the route. Recording artist Prince was reportedly the first person to "buy a mile" in this way.
Organization While celebrities and corporate sponsorships publicized Hands Across America, the task of planning for a transcontinental chain of people fell mostly to political organizers. Fred Droz, a former Democratic Party "advance man" who had become disillusioned with politics after the defeat of Jimmy Carter, became the project's national director.Bell, Joseph N. "The Battle Against Deprivation, on a Small Scale and Large", Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1986, Web. Retrieved February 9, 2024. Donna Brazile, future chair of the Democratic National Committee, was the director of Hands Across America in Washington, D.C."Reagan lending hand with hunger campaign", Associated Press, via Lincoln Journal, May 24, 1986, front page. Kragen compared the structure of the organization to "pyramid selling", with organizers at the state, regional, and local levels responsible for smaller and smaller segments of the chain, then "mile captains" overseeing each mile and "tenth-of-a-mile captains" at the lowest level.Harrington, Richard. "Counting on Chain Reaction", Washington Post, May 2, 1986, Web. Retrieved February 9, 1986.
Particularly in rural and remote areas, organizing the chain required significant logistical efforts. People in cities not along the route were encouraged to apply for an assignment to a place in line, typically a small town a several-hour drive away. An optimal assignment of people to segments of the line was computed by Figi's, a subsidiary of mail-order house Fingerhut in Marshfield, Wisconsin, straining the capabilities of computer technology of the time: Figi's replaced a previous contractor that had been unable to keep up with the volume of applications. These route assignments were then mailed to applicants, along with a packet of instructions on how to get there and where to park, about a week before the event. A less sophisticated alternative was offered by Ticketmaster, which directed callers on its toll-free numbers to spots on the line immediately upon calling.Haferd, Laura. "Human chain will be a feat of technology", Akron Beacon-Journal, May 11, 1986, page A4.
Bus rides were organized to transport large groups of people to distant spots along the route.Kodrich, Kris. "Hands Across America: More than charity; good feeling lingers", Wisconsin State Journal, May 27, 1986, Section 3, page 1. Local organizers and communities the chain passed through, many of which had never hosted thousands of out-of-town visitors before, were responsible for providing food and portable toilets for visitors.Merzer, Martin. "Town opens heart to 'Hands' invasion", Springfield News-Sun, May 25, 1986, page 7D. No major incidents or injuries were reported during the event, and no claims were filed against Hands Across America's insurance policy.
The day of In the days leading up to the event, organizers announced that those who had not donated would not be turned away from joining hands, in the hopes of encouraging more participation and creating a more complete chain of people.
Participants were encouraged to bring portable radios and boomboxes so they could listen to a nationwide simulcast of the event, which was broadcast on thousands of radio stations across the country. Leading up to the event, the radio broadcast played "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Dancing in the Street", and "This Land Is Your Land". At 3:00 p.m. EDT, 2:00 p.m. CDT, 1:00 p.m. MDT, and 12:00 p.m. PDT, Ken Kragen spoke from New York, instructing participants to join hands. Those in the chain then sang along to "We Are the World", the "Hands Across America" song, and "America the Beautiful" – the lyrics to these three songs were published in many newspapers on the day of the event. The event concluded after 15 minutes.
Route
New York The eastern end of the chain was at Battery Park in New York City, within view of the Statue of Liberty. The first person in the line was 6-year-old Amy Sherwood, whose family had been living in a local welfare hotel until recently. Notable participants in Battery Park included New York governor Mario Cuomo, mayor Ed Koch, Cardinal John O'Connor, Senator Alfonse D'Amato, Yoko Ono and her son Sean Lennon, Harry Belafonte, Helen Hayes, Lily Tomlin, Bella Abzug, Kool and the Gang, Bianca Jagger, Edward James Olmos,Starita, Joe. "America lends a helping hand: Rich, poor alike line N.Y. streets", Miami Herald, May 26, 1986, front page and page 6A. Ken Kragen, and Liza Minnelli. Over 200,000 people joined the line in New York City, five times more than were needed to cover the 12-mile stretch across most of Manhattan, including Glenn Close, William Hurt, and Sam Waterston."From sea to shining sea: Local supporters lend their hands", Mamaroneck Daily Times, May 26, 1986, front page and page 5. On the George Washington Bridge, Brooke Shields and Christy Fichtner (who had been selected as Miss USA five days earlier) stood at the sign marking the border between New York and New Jersey."Across most of the U.S., the good hands stretched", New York Daily News, May 26, 1986, pages 3 and 6.Bell, Charles W. "United they stand on aid", New York Daily News, May 25, 1986, pages 3 and 31.
The date and time chosen for the event inadvertently conflicted with another charity fundraiser, Sport Aid, a global event 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 the New York City portion for Sport Aid, which coincided with a special session on world hunger at the United Nations.
New Jersey In New Jersey, the route passed through Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton and Camden.Jaeger, Barbara. "Hands across Bergen", The Record, May 25, 1986, page A-26. At Drumthwacket, the New Jersey governor's mansion in Princeton, Governor Thomas Kean was joined by Senator Frank Lautenberg and Joan Rivers.Gold, Jeffrey. "America links hands to forge aid chain", Asbury Park Press, May 25, 1986, front page and page A2.
Eastern Pennsylvania