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Hands Across America
Hands Across America - Philadelphia, PA (Benjamin Franklin Parkway / Philadelphia Art Museum - May 25th, 1986 (Photo By Sam Cali).
Location(s) Across the United States
Years active 1986
Founded by Ken Kragen
Date(s) May 25, 1986
Genre(s)
Website Hands Across America

Hands Across America was a benefit event staged on Sunday May 25, 1986 in which approximately seven million people held hands in a human chain for fifteen minutes along a path across the continental United States. Ken Kragen is an entertainment lawyer and Activist. In 1985, he was instrumental in securing the talent that appeared on the fund-raising single We Are Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Two or more people voluntarily hold hands for one of the following reasons and purposes in various rituals Handshake in certain A human chain is a form of demonstration in which people link their arms as a show of political solidarity Participants paid ten dollars to reserve their place in line; the proceeds were donated to local charities to fight hunger and homelessness and help those in poverty.

"On the afternoon of Sunday, May 25, 1986, almost seven million people joined hands to form a line that stretched 4,152 miles (6,682 km) – from New York City's Battery Park to a pier in Long Beach, California. The City of New York Battery Park is a 25-acre (10 hectare public park located at the Battery the southern tip of the New York City borough of Manhattan, facing Long Beach is a city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific coast This nationwide event, called Hands Across America, was intended to raise money to fight hunger and homelessness. "

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 undoubtedly many breaks in the chain, but enough people participated to form an unbroken chain across the country if a path were a straight line.

The Coca-Cola Company and Citibank donated a combined $8 million to fund the event. The Coca-Cola Company ( is the world's largest beverage company largest manufacturer distributor and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and Syrups in the world Citibank is a major international Bank, founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York. The event raised nearly $20 million, far short of its $50 million goal, and critics branded the event a failure, as production costs exceeded $17 million. It was believed that a substantial number of participants joined in without paying the requisite ten dollar fee.

scan of the Hands Across America t-shirt; shows logo
scan of the Hands Across America t-shirt; shows logo

Cities along the route included the following:

The event was conceived and organized by Ken Kragen. Ken Kragen is an entertainment lawyer and Activist. In 1985, he was instrumental in securing the talent that appeared on the fund-raising single We Are Event implementation was through USA for Africa under the direction of Marty Rogol, the founding Executive Director. A theme song, entitled "Hands Across America," was played simultaneously on hundreds of radio stations at 3:00 p. The phrase theme music usually refers to that of a radio program, Television program, or Movie. m. Eastern time (noon Pacific time) to add to the festive atmosphere of the event. The Eastern Time Zone ( ET) of the Western Hemisphere falls mostly along the east coast of North America and the west coast of South America The Pacific Time Zone observes Standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC-8)

Little known facts: The actual song "Hands Across America" that was playing while everyone was holding hands was written by Marc Blatte and John Carney for Look and Company, a music production house in NYC. Look and Company were trend setters during the 1980's creating music for Chrysler's comeback with "Pride Is Back" and Goodyear's "Goodyear Take Me Home" among others. The lead vocalists were Joe Cerisano and Sandy Farina who at the time were the top session singers in America. Joe Cerisano, (born March 28, 1951) is an American Singer, Songwriter, Record producer and President of Outta' the Woods Records All the demo work was done in NYC city at the Power Station then the basic tracks and final vocal were recorded in Los Angeles. Avatar Studios, formerly known as the The Power Station, is a Recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The backing band was Toto. Toto was a Grammy Award winning American rock band founded in 1977 by some of the most popular and experienced Session musicians of

Hands Across America was a project of USA for Africa. USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa was the name under which forty-five predominantly U USA for Africa produced "We Are The World" and the combined revenues raised by both events raised almost $100 million dollars to fight famine in Africa and hunger and homelessness in the United States. " We Are the World " is a 1985 song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, produced and conducted by Quincy Jones and recorded

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. Sport Aid (also known as Sports Aid) was a charitable event held on May 25 1986, raising millions of pounds to support famine relief in Africa Since Hands Across America was much better publicized in the United States, only 4000 runners participated in New York City for Sport Aid.

References

Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar)
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