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Staking Our Claim Book Reading and Signing
September 24 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm EDT
Join us for a book reading and signing of Pat Morrissy’s new memoir, Staking Our Claim.
Patrick Morrissy, the founder and executive director (for 30 years) of HANDS community
development corporation has written a memoir that tells the story of his early days in
Orange and East Orange, organizing tenant associations and rehabilitating a big old
beat-up Victorian house.
Wednesday, September 24th, 2025
6:30pm-8:00pm
The HUUB
35 Cleveland St, Orange, NJ
About Staking Our Claim:
In the 1970s’ world of urban decline, a young man seeks a life of authenticity through collective action and the strength of community. Staking Our Claim chronicles Patrick Morrissy’s journey as he reclaims a worn Victorian house in East Orange, NJ, and teams up with other passionate organizers to build grassroots organizations that do battle to hold down rents and get landlords to maintain apartment buildings.
Morrissy and his compatriots are from that strain of the New Left that worked to unite the poor and working class in the fight for economic justice. Fueled by the Civil Rights Movement and a desire for social justice, they battled rising rents, slumlords, and government policies that devastated urban neighborhoods. They launched Shelterforce, a national publication for housing activists, and fought for tenant rights, striving to create a society where no one is left behind.
This memoir is about the search for meaning, the power of grassroots movements, and the enduring value of community in the face of economic hardship and political retrenchment.
