Key Takeaways
- As a member of the “Clinton 12,” Jo Ann Allen Boyce helped integrate Clinton High School in Tennessee in 1956.
- She later became a nurse and author, sharing her story in an award-winning memoir.
- Her grandson, actor Cameron Boyce, often cited her as a major influence in his life and activism.
Jo Ann Boyce, a member of the barrier-breaking “Clinton 12” and grandmother of the late actor Cameron Boyce, has died. She was 84. Her daughter, Kamlyn Young, confirmed to ABC News that Jo Ann passed away on Wednesday (Dec. 4) at her Los Angeles home after living with pancreatic cancer for a decade.
At just 14, Jo Ann became one of twelve Black students who integrated Clinton High School in Clinton, Tenn., in 1956 — making it the first public high school in the South to desegregate after Brown v. Board of Education. She stood on the front lines of the fight for equal education. What began as excitement about new clothes, new friends, and a shorter commute quickly turned into a national flashpoint. Segregationists and Ku Klux Klan members flooded the small town with violent protests, prompting the National Guard to intervene and restore order. “She was thinking about, ‘What clothes was I going to wear? How would I do my hair? Who were going to be my friends?’” her daughter-in-law, Libby Boyce, told ABC News.
As the outlet reported, the first few days of school swung from calm to chaotic in a matter of hours. Monday brought only a handful of curious onlookers. By Tuesday, more people gathered. Then came Wednesday — the first day she truly felt unsafe. “On Wednesday morning, I almost cried to go back home because there were so many people, and they looked so mean,” Jo Ann recalled in a television interview at the time. “They looked like they just wanted to grab us and throw us out. They didn’t want us at all. I could just see the hate in their hearts.” Some students inside the building offered kindness or kept to themselves, but others called her names, left hostile signs on lockers, and threw things. Even then, Jo Ann kept going and was later elected vice president of her homeroom.
The Los Angeles Times reported that violence in the city grew so severe that Jo Ann’s family ultimately left Tennessee for Los Angeles in 1957. Still, she never lost her optimism, a trait her children and grandchildren say guided her for the rest of her life. She went on to become a pediatric nurse, perform in a family music group called The Debs, and co-author the award-winning book “This Promise of Change.”
Tributes poured in from the Green McAdoo Cultural Center, where life-size statues of the “Clinton 12” now stand. “We’ve lost such a caring and humble soul,” the museum wrote on its Facebook page, adding that “Jo Ann inspired everyone she met.”
Why Cameron Boyce called his grandmother Jo Ann Boyce one of his biggest inspirations
Jo Ann’s legacy deeply shaped her grandson Cameron, who spoke about her impact before his own death. “My Nana stuck up for what she believed in and did something amazing,” the Disney Channel star told PEOPLE. “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.”