Jo Ann Boyce
Jo Ann Boyce was one of the first Black students to attend an integrated high school in the South in 1956, known as the Clinton Twelve.
Civil Rights Figure
September 14, 1941
83
Jo Ann Boyce, an American civil rights activist, is renowned for her role in advocating desegregation and equal treatment for all. As one of the “Clinton 12,” she was among the first African-American students to integrate into Clinton High School in Tennessee in 1956. Boyce’s accomplishments include membership in Delta Sigma Theta sorority, participation in the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins, and receiving the Dean’s Award for Service from Harvard Law School. She has also worked as a teacher, volunteered as a tutor for underprivileged children, and advocated for literacy. Her story was featured in a short-film series on Disney XD and Disney Channel, and she is the grandmother of the late actor Cameron Boyce, who carried on her legacy of supporting human and civil rights causes.