Jo Ann Allen Boyce, a renowned civil rights activist, passed away on Dec. 3 at the age of 84 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, the Green McAdoo Cultural Center announced in a post on Facebook.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we share the news that our friend Jo Ann Allen Boyce passed away yesterday,” they wrote on Dec. 4. “We’ve lost such a caring and humble soul. Jo Ann was someone who was so generous with her own story and shared it with people across the country. I spent some time with her a few years back in Wisconsin, where she told her story to student bodies and every day citizens. 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. Today is a tough one for all of us she did. We send our love and care to the Boyce family,” they concluded.
She is also the grandmother of the late actor Cameron Boyce, who passed away at the age of 20 on July 6, 2019.
Cameron Boyce Said His Grandmother Was His Biggest Inspiration
In a 2019 interview with Dazed before his passing, Cameron Boyce spoke about his grandmother, revealing that she is his biggest inspiration.
Jo Ann Allen Boyce was a member of the Clinton 12, which were a group of 12 teenagers who attended Clinton High School in Tennessee after the Supreme Court’s 1954 desegregation ruling.
âShe had to be so brave,â Cameron Boyce told the outlet. âShe had to face death threats, berating and violence just to go to school. Sheâs a hero â theyâre all heroes.âÂ
Cameron Boyce also was part of a 2016 series on Disney XD called “Be Inspired,” honoring Black History Month. There, he shared his grandmother’s story.
Tributes Pour In For Jo Ann Allen Boyce
“Jo Ann Allen Boyce, one of the courageous âClinton 12,â has died at 84. Before attending Clinton High School, she had to walk past it daily to bus 20 miles to a segregated high school, until she was selected as one of 12 children in Anderson County to attend the formerly all-white Clinton in 1956. Though rising violence forced her family to leave, her bravery and strength helped open doors for generations. She was in the fight and chose love over hate. Rest in Power, Sister,” Lawyer and Civil Rights Advocate Ben Crump posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Rest in peace Jo Ann Allen Boyce, a civil rights icon. As a student, she formed part of the âClinton 12â and helped integrate Clinton High School in 1956, on year before Little Rock High School. Our condolences go out to her family and loved ones,” the Legal Defense Fund wrote.
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