Cameron Boyce’s Grandmother, Civil Rights Activist and Member of the Segregation-Busting Clinton 12, Dies at 84

Jo Ann Allen Boyce, a member of the historic “Clinton 12” and grandmother of late actor Cameron Boyce, has died at age 84.

She passed away from pancreatic cancer at her home in California on Dec. 3, surrounded by family, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Boyce made history as one of the first Black students to attend an integrated public high school in the South, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision led to the desegregation of Clinton High School in Tennessee.

Today, life-size sculptures of Jo Ann and the 11 other members of the Clinton 12 stand at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton, Tenn. The statues honor the courage the students showed as they walked the halls of the school amid threats, hostility and daily harassment.

“We’ve lost such a caring and humble soul,” the center wrote in a tribute. “The people who met her were in awe and entirely grateful for her kindness. A student was so inspired by her story that they wept when they met her, and Jo Ann was quick to offer them a warm hug.”

“Jo Ann inspired everyone she met,” the statement continued. “Today is a tough one for all of us. We send our love and care to the Boyce family.”

In January 2021, Cameron — who died in July 2019 after suffering a seizure — spoke about how deeply his grandmother’s journey shaped his outlook.

“My Nana stuck up for what she believed in and did something amazing,” he said at the time. “Things are going to happen in your life, and you’re going to face adversity, but if you grow from that and learn from that, you’re a better person because of it.”

Escalating violence and assaults eventually forced Jo Ann and her family to leave Tennessee for Los Angeles in 1957. Even then, her father, Herbert Allen, emphasized that their departure was not driven by bitterness. “We’re not leaving here with hatred in our hearts against anyone,” he told reporters at the time.

Ultimately, only two of the Clinton 12 graduated from Clinton High School.

Jo Ann’s story was later featured in Disney XD and Disney Channel’s Be Inspired short film series. In a 2021 interview, she reflected on what it felt like to return to Clinton High School decades later with her family.

“It was overwhelming. It was emotional,” she said. “I could go back and remember the days that me and my friends walked down that hill together.”

“All of us, all of our parents, every single student that walked down the hill with me, all of our parents wanted us to do better,” she continued. “They wanted us to have better opportunities, so therefore education was number one for them. They told us, ‘It may be difficult, but you guys go ahead. We are with you.’”

In another interview shortly before his death, Cameron explained that his grandmother’s legacy of activism and resilience gave him a model for how to use his own platform to help others.

“There’s a long line of difference makers in my family,” he said in May 2019. “I’m following in the footsteps of some really strong men and women who have showed me what it means to give back; it’s the greatest way to fulfill yourself.”