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NEED TO KNOW
Jo Ann Allen Boyce has died from pancreatic cancer at age 84
The civil rights trailblazer was a member of the "Clinton 12" and was Cameron Boyce's grandmother
"My Nana stuck up for what she believed in and did something amazing," the late Disney star, who died after suffering a seizure in 2021, previously told PEOPLE
Jo Ann Allen Boyce, a member of the "Clinton 12" andCameron Boyce's grandmother, has died. She was 84.
Jo Ann died from pancreatic cancer while she was surrounded by family at her home in California on Dec. 3, according to theLos Angeles Times.
The civil rights trailblazer attended the first integrated public high school in the South after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 ruling in Brown v. The Board of Education ordered Clinton High School to desegregate.
Green McAdoo Cultural Center/Facebook
Now, life-size sculptures of Jo Ann and 11 of her fellow students stand in the Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton, Tenn., to honor the courage they showed when they walked the hallways of the school, despite intense backlash and daily harassment.
"We've lost such a caring and humble soul," the centerwrote in a tributeto Jo Ann. "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," the statement continued. "Today is a tough one for all of us she did. We send our love and care to the Boyce family."
In January 2021, Cameron — whodied that July after suffering a seizure— told PEOPLEhow inspiring his grandmother's story was to him.
"My Nana stuck up for what she believed in and did something amazing," he said at the time. "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."
Escalating violence and assaults forced Jo Ann and her family to leave Tennessee for Los Angeles in 1957. At the time, her father, Herbert Allen, told reporters, "We're not leaving here with hatred in our hearts against anyone."
Only two of the Clinton 12 ultimately graduated from Clinton High.
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Jo Ann, whose story was told in Disney XD and Disney Channel'sBe Inspiredshort film series, previously opened up to PEOPLE about the feeling of returning to Clinton High School so many years later with her family.
"It was overwhelming. It was emotional," Jo Ann said in 2021. "I could go back and remember the days that me and my friends walked down that hill together."
Billy Hicks/Disney XD via Getty
"All of us, all of our parents, every single student that walked down the hill with me, all of our parents wanted us to do better, she continued.
Adde Jo Ann: "They wanted us to have better opportunities, so therefore education was number one for them. They told us, 'It may be difficult, but you guys go ahead. We are with you.' "
In another interview right before his death, Cameroncredited his grandmotherfor providing him with a blueprint on giving back and making a difference in the world.
"There's a long line of difference makers in my family. I'm following in the footsteps of some really strong men and women who have showed me what it means to give back; it's the greatest way to fulfill yourself," he toldHaute Livingin May 2019.
Read the original article onPeople
