Jo-Ann Boyce Activist Biography And Wiki

Jo-Ann Boyce is an American civil rights leader. She is also the grandmother of Disney star Cameron Boyce who was one of 12 black teenagers in 1956 that would become known as The Clinton 12.

Jo-Ann Boyce Age And Birthday | Date Of Birth

Jo-Ann was born on September 14, 1941, in Tennessee. She turned 78 years old in 2019. She celebrates her birthday on September 14 every year.

Jo-Ann Boyce Height And Weight

Jo-Ann appears to be quite tall in stature if her photos, relative to her surroundings, are anything to go by. However, details regarding her actual height and other body measurements are currently not publicly available. We are keeping tabs and will update this information once it is out.

Jo-Ann Boyce Family | Parents And Siblings

Jo-Ann Boyce is a Family Member. Jo was born in the 1940s, in the middle of Silent Generation generation. Her father was once arrested for confronting the KKK. Since Cameron grew up in Los Angeles with his family, it is unsurprising that he started acting professionally when he was only 9 years old.

In an interview with LACBC, Jo Ann’s son, Victor Boyce, said “My mom is from Tennessee. My grandfather decided to move his family to California to escape oppressive racism in the South.

There were also much better employment opportunities in Los Angeles at the time. I wouldn’t exist if he hadn’t made that choice. My parents met in L.A.”

Jo-Ann Boyce Husband, Spouse | Married

She and her husband, Victor, have been married for almost 60 years. They got married in 1959.

Jo-Ann Boyce Children | Kids

She is the grandmother of Cameron Boyce who was one of 12 black teenagers in 1956 that would become known as The Clinton 12.

Jo-Ann Boyce Career | Activist

Boyce received a degree in nursing from Los Angeles City College. With that degree, she first worked as a registered Good Samaritan Hospital helping adults, before earning a job working with a private pediatrician. She held that position for 10 years, then worked as an R.N. at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for 30 years before retiring.

Her career as an RN was clearly important to her; when describing herself in her Twitter bio, she writes “Mom, Nana. Retired Pediatric R.N. Love music, especially jazz; classic literature, collecting.”

Jo-Ann Boyce Net Worth

She has not revealed her net worth. She is a simple woman and never likes to attract public attention by publicly displaying her wealth. However, this section is under review, we will update you when details about her net worth are revealed.

Jo-Ann Boyce Book

This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality

She Published a Book Entitled ‘This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality’ Earlier This Year.

Jo-Ann co-authored a book for teens and young adults with Debbie Levy, narrating her experience attending Clinton High School and becoming a historical figure because of it.

Jo-Ann Boyce Cameron Boyce

Cameron Boyce Reflected on Giving Back and Inspiring Others in Final Interview

Just two months before Cameron Boyce passed away, Haute Living published an interview with the Disney star in which he opened up about giving back, inspiring others and fulfilling one’s dreams.

In what would be his final interview, the Descendants star credited the “long line of difference makers” in his family by cultivating his passion to help make the world a better place.

“I’m following in the footsteps of some really strong men and women who have shown me what it means to give back,” he told the media outlet at the time. “It’s the greatest way to fulfill yourself. Every time I talk to someone who shares that similar passion, we talk about how there aren’t many feelings more euphoric. Changing someone else’s life positively changes yours for the better as well.”

One “difference maker” is his grandmother Jo-Ann Boyce. His grandmother was a member of the Clinton 12—a group of African American students who were the first to desegregate a state-supported high school in the south in 1956.

“She’s a huge part of who I am,” Boyce said. “Being African American and Jewish, I have plenty of ancestors and family members that I can look to for strength, and more importantly, for a grateful outlook on life. Every one of them clawed and scratched for my sister and me to be in the position we’re in today.”

He also opened up about how he tried to inspire others, such as by filling in the gap between wanting to give back and knowing how to take action.

“Many people have the heart to give back, but a lot don’t know how to,” he told Haute Living. “I try to be the bridge for those people– whether that means getting them involved in one of my campaigns or inspiring them by showing them a blueprint of how to get others engaged.”

Over the course of his lifetime, Boyce worked on many philanthropic initiatives, including bringing awareness to the Global Water Crisis and raising more than $30,000 for the Thirst Project.

In addition to speaking about philanthropy, Boyce offered some words of wisdom to those chasing a dream.

“Fail and fail and fail until you don’t fail,” he said. “That’s the cycle. You’ll fail until you don’t, and then you’ll restart the process over again.”

News of Boyce’s death broke on Sunday, July 7. According to his rep, he passed away in his sleep due to a seizure, which was the result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated. He was 20 years old.

Jo-Ann Boyce Cameron Boyce Death

Actor and activist Cameron Boyce has died aged 20

Cameron Boyce, a former Disney Channel actor, and advocate for a more socially conscious Hollywood has died aged 20. He leaves behind multiple projects in production and a promising future as an activist, with a “strong desire to make a difference in peoples’ lives through his humanitarian work,” as described to ABC News by a Disney Channel spokesperson.

Boyce reportedly died of a seizure in his sleep, the result of an “ongoing medical condition”. “The world is now undoubtedly without one of its brightest lights,” says a representative for his family. “His spirit will live on through the kindness and compassion of all who knew and loved him.”

Jo-Ann Boyce, Cameron Boyce’s grandmother and one of the Clinton 12, a group of black students who stood up for school desegregation in the US, inspired a lot of the young actor’s social work.

Besides being known for roles in Descendants and the Disney show Jessie, he was outspoken about the importance of representation in Hollywood and also raised funds for The Thirst Project, a charity fighting the global water crisis.

Even in his acting work, this social consciousness shone through. Ahead of starring in the indie thriller Runt last year, he told Dazed why he wanted to take on the role of a neglected teen in a spiral of violence: “It’s important to show (characters) from every walk of life so people can say, ‘I can do that too,’ and feel like their existence is acknowledged,” he says.

Jo-Ann Boyce Disney

In 2016, Jo-Ann was a part of Disney XD’s short film series Be Inspired, honouring Black History Month. His contribution to the series was a segment that shared his grandmother’s story as part of the Clinton 12. Cameron, Jo-Ann, and Cameron’s parents and sister went back to Clinton and visited the Green McAdoo Cultural Center, which features sculptures of Jo-Ann and the 11 other students who made history in Clinton.

In an interview with People Magazine, Cameron said “My Nana stuck up for what she believed in and did something amazing… 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.”

Of the experience being back in Clinton years later with her family, Jo-Ann told People “It was overwhelming. It was emotional… I could go back and remember the days that I and my friends walked down that hill together.”

Jo-Ann Boyce And The Clinton 12

The twelve students were Jo-Ann Boyce (née Allen), Bobby Cain, Theresser Caswell, Minnie Ann Jones (née Dickey), Gail Ann Upton (née Epps), Ronald Hayden, William Latham, Alvah J. Lambert (née McSwain), Maurice Soles, Robert Thacker, Regina Smith (née Turner), and Alfred Williams.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, federal judge Robert Taylor ordered Clinton High School to desegregate with “all deliberate speed” in the fall of 1956. The integration of Clinton High School was forced to be first among Tennessee public schools. Anti-integration campaigners from inside and outside Clinton protested the decision to integrate the high school (Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Vol LVI).

They were inspired by New Jersey white supremacist John Kasper and Asa Carter both of whom spoke publicly in Clinton on September 1, 1956, against the decision to integrate the high school (Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Vol LVI).

After violence was narrowly averted on the lawn of the Anderson County Courthouse on September 1, National Guard troops were called into the city for two months to keep order. The protests resulted in a jury trial for criminal contempt, of which seven of ten defendants were convicted.

The twelve black students who attended Clinton High School that fall became known as the “Clinton 12”. On the morning of each school day, they walked together down Broad Street from Foley Hill to Clinton High. On the morning of December 4, 1956, Rev. Paul Turner, the white minister of the First Baptist Church, was severely beaten after escorting the twelve students to school.

A bronze statue of the “Clinton Twelve” is now displayed outside a newly remodeled front entrance to the former Green McAdoo School, where the twelve students had attended elementary school. In February 2016, Disney Channel and sister network Disney XD aired a short for Black History Month. In the short, Disney star Cameron Boyce, the grandson of Jo-Ann Boyce, one of the Clinton 12 students, talked about the school. The short also featured his grandmother, Jo Ann Boyce.

Early on the morning of October 5, 1958, the Clinton High School building was severely damaged by a series of dynamite explosions. An estimated 75 to 100 sticks of dynamite had been placed in three locations in the building. No one was injured, but school officials estimated damages at $300,000.

Clinton was once again the focus of attention over a crime that was universally assumed to be related to the school’s desegregation. While the school was rebuilt, Clinton High School students were bused to Oak Ridge where the school operated in the recently vacated building that had housed Linden Elementary School. Clinton High School reopened in its own building in 1960.

The documentary The Clinton 12 is a historical review of these events and was aired widely on PBS in 2008 and 2009. The members of the Clinton 12 were inducted into the Clinton High School Wall of Fame in 2005 (Bobby Cain), 2007 (Gail Ann Epps Upton) and 2010.

Frequently Asked Questions About Jo-Ann Boyce

Who is Jo-Ann Boyce?

Jo-Ann Boyce is an American civil rights leader. She is also the grandmother of Disney star Cameron Boyce who was one of 12 black teenagers in 1956 that would become known as The Clinton 12.

How old is Jo-Ann Boyce?

Jo-Ann was born on September 14, 1941, in Tennessee. She turned 78 years old in 2019. She celebrates her birthday on September 14 every year.

How tall is Jo-Ann Boyce?

Jo-Ann has not shared her height with the public. Her height will be listed once we have it from a credible source.

Is Jo-Ann Boyce married?