Maurice Vendettuoli was born in New Bedford, MA in 1920 and Vera Vendettuoli (née Means) was born in 1925 in London, England. They were married in West Ham, England in 1945. The Vendettuolis settled in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Providence, RI sometime after.
In 1971, the Mount Pleasant Parents and Citizens Council was incorporated with Maurice Vendettuoli as chairman of the steering committee and Vera Vendettuoli as corresponding secretary. In February 1972, the Mount Pleasant Parents and Citizens Council entered an amicus curiae before the Rhode Island Supreme Court in Barletta v. Kilvert, which sought to halt the Providence School Department’s racial balancing plan.
Maurice Vendettuoli died in 1995 and Vera Vendettuoli died in 1997.
The collection contains documents created and collected by Maurice and Vera Vendettuoli, a majority of which relate to their response to and protest of desegregated busing and the Providence Desegregation Plan. The collection includes correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, Mount Pleasant Parents and Citizens Council records, and other materials relating to the Vendettuoli’s interests, including their opposition to desegregated busing, as well as education and taxation.
Rhode Island College Special Collections holds copyright to materials created by Maurice and Vera Vendettuoli. The collection contains materials not created by the Vendettuolis which may be under copyright restrictions. Researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights to all materials. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
The collection is open for research by appointment.
Maurice and Vera Vendettuoli papers, MSS-0004, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College.
The collection has been arranged into the following series:
The collection was donated by Maurice and Vera Vendettuoli in 1975. A deed of gift was signed at the time of donation.
The collection was initially arranged and described circa 1975 by Michael Kohl, Assistant Librarian at Rhode Island College Special Collections. Newsletters, pamphlets, and flyers (mostly political mailings) were removed from the collection and added to the Social and Political Materials Collection at this time. In 2022, the guide to the collection was updated to current archival standards and additional publications removed by Veronica Denison, Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Rhode Island College Special Collections.
Works used in preparation of inventory: Biographical information was provided by the donors at the time of donation in 1975.
Political mailings and ephemera were removed from the collection and added to the Social and Political Materials Collection circa 1975. In 2022, additional published materials were removed from the collection and added to the Special Collections book collection. Please contact the Rhode Island College Special Collections for further information regarding these items.
This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact the Rhode Island College Special Collections.
This series includes correspondence written by and to the Vendettuolis regarding their opposition to the Providence Desegregation Plan as well as the implementation of desegregated busing in Providence to obtain racial balance in the public schools, and taxes relating to education. Many letters were written on behalf of the Mount Pleasant Parents and Citizens Council. Correspondents include: Superintendent of Providence Public Schools Charles Bernardo; Mayor of Providence James Doorley; Acting Superintendent of Providence Public Schools Charles H. Durant III; U.S. Representative (R-MI) Gerald R. Ford; Majority Leader in the Rhode Island State Senate John Hawkins; Chairman of the Providence School Committee Charles Kilvert; U.S. Senate (D-RI) John O. Pastore; U.S. Senator (D-RI) Claiborne Pell; U.S. Representative (D-RI) Fernand St. Germain. The series is arranged chronologically.
The series contains clippings collected by the Vendettuoli’s relating to education, the implementation of desegregated busing in Providence, and opposition to taxation. The clippings were also referenced by the Mount Pleasant Parents and Citizens Council prior to the donation of the collection.
The series contains records relating to the Mount Pleasant Parents and Citizens Council and their opposition to desegregated busing. A majority of the letters to the editor and position papers were written by Maurice Vendettuoli on behalf of the Mount Pleasant Parents and Citizens Council.
This series includes Maurice Vendettuoli’s research notes, press releases from the Providence Teachers Union concerning allegations of racism on the part of staff at Mount Pleasant High School, as well as newspapers, and draft letters and position papers.