May 25 – Anniversary of Hands Across America

nPostednon May 25, 2016

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nOnnthis date in 1986, for fifteen minutes, people formed a 4,125-mile-long line thatncrossed the continental United States. The human chain was created bynabout 6.5 million people!!

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Innactual fact, there were many breaks in the chain – wide rivers andnhigh mountains tend to do that to human chains – but the chainnlinked major cities and then meandered back and forth within thencities, to allow as many people as possible to participate. In somenplaces the line of people was six, seven, even ten people deep! If wencould have had hands across all the rugged, high-altitude, orndeep-water spots, that many people really could have spanned thenU.S., for sure.

The line meandered a bit on large scale (see above)
as well as on a smaller scales (below).

nYounmay ask what good it does to have people hold hands “from sea tonshining sea.” Aside from the reality of the cooperation it took toncomplete the project, there was great symbolism in a human chain ofnpeople of all ethnicities, genders, and ages working together toncomplete the chain.

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nButnthe event was also a fundraiser. Donations were collected in eachncity from many of the participants reserving their places in thenline, and those donations were used to help feed, clothe, or housenlocal people in need. In all, Hands Across America raised $34nmillion.

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Somenstars were recruited to stand in line. People as varied as actorsnEdward James Olmos and Brooke Shields to musicians Yoko Ono and HarrynBelafonte were on hand in New York City; actor Robin Williams, MickeynMouse, Goofy, and C-3PO helped finish the chain in Long Beach,nCalifornia. In between were then-President Ronald Reagan, musiciannMichael Jackson, magician David Copperfield, Chewbacca the Wookiee,nfuture president Bill Clinton, 50 Abraham Lincoln impersonators, andn54 Elvis Presley impersonators!

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nAndnmore stars. And of course way, way more “ordinary” extraordinarynpeople.

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nAlsonon this date:

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