Jo Ann Boyce, a civil rights pioneer and one of the original members of the Clinton 12, has died at 84.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Boyce passed away surrounded by family after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Boyce was just 14 years old in 1956 when she became one of the first Black students to integrate a public high school in the South. Following the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, Clinton High School in Clinton, Tennessee, was ordered to desegregate.
Twelve Black students—later known as the Clinton 12—were selected to attend. Their presence sparked violent backlash from segregationists, including Ku Klux Klan-led mobs, bomb threats, and daily harassment.
At the time, Boyce believed the transition might be peaceful. “When we started school, there were only a few people around,” she said in a 1956 television interview. “And I thought maybe, ‘Well, they’re just here to be curious.’”
That hope quickly evaporated as the hostility intensified. Inside the school, students faced physical intimidation, threats, and humiliation. “I could just see the hate in their hearts,” Boyce later recalled.
Despite the chaos, Boyce and her classmates continued showing up—escorted at times by the National Guard. Only two of the Clinton 12 would ultimately graduate from Clinton High.
In 1957, escalating violence forced Boyce’s family to leave Tennessee for Los Angeles. As they departed, her father Herbert Allen told reporters, “We’re not leaving here with hatred in our hearts against anyone.”
In later years, Boyce’s grandson, actor Cameron Boyce, helped introduce her story to a new generation. For Black History Month in 2021, he participated in a Disney short-film series highlighting the history of the Clinton 12.
“My Nana stuck up for what she believed in and did something amazing,” Cameron said. Reflecting on her mindset, he added, “She has chosen to forgive, not forget, and she learned from it and has just grown from her experiences.”
Boyce herself described returning to Clinton decades later as emotional. “I could go back and remember the days that me and my friends walked down that hill together,” she told People at the time.
She emphasized the role of her parents and community, saying, “They told us, ‘It may be difficult but you guys go ahead. We are with you.’”
After settling in California, Boyce built a full life beyond activism. She became a pediatric nurse, pursued music as a performer, and raised a family with her husband of 64 years, Victor Boyce.
In her later years, she became a sought-after speaker, sharing her experiences with students nationwide. She co-authored the 2019 book, This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality, and worked closely with the Green McAdoo Cultural Center to preserve the legacy of the Clinton 12.
“She was a lover of people,” her daughter Kamlyn Young said. “She loved life and always sought to see the good in people through all the adversity.”