Speaking with CNN, Victor explained that Cameron had not suffered many seizures before the one that took his life, “he kept that to himself, and he managed that, he never let epilepsy define him.”
Instead, Cameron focused his activism on other causes, including fighting against gun violence, providing clean water and ending homelessness.
The Cameron Boyce Foundation is raising money and partnering with agencies to fund epilepsy research. They are also working to raise awareness that epilepsy can be fatal. SUDEP has few warning signs; Libby explained that they don’t want to scare people. Instead, their goal is to “make clear that if you have epilepsy, learn as much as you can and advocate as much as you can with your physicians.”
Cameron’s co-stars are joining the cause. Adam Sandler, Salma Hayek, Karan Brar, Dove Cameron and Sophie Reynolds are just some of the celebrities who joined the foundation’s advisory board.
Libby explained that Cameron saw the arts as a tool to reduce gun violence. “if you had creative outlets, [young people] would probably be more positive and less likely to rely on violence as a mode of communication.”
Activism runs in the Boyce family. Cameron’s grandmother is Jo Ann Boyce, a civil rights pioneer and a member of the Clinton 12. They were the first Black students to integrate the high school in Clinton, Tennessee in 1956.
Victor discussed the impact his mother’s actions had on Cameron. “You could just tell that Cameron was immersed in the history and just amazed at what my mom had to go through, as well as everybody else who was Black in the South … It impacted him greatly, and I think it clicked something in his brain that this is just not acceptable. This is just not something you can sit idly by and just say, ‘Hey whatever.’ That’s why I think he was passionate about not only [nonviolence] but just activism in general.”
While Victor and Libby are using donations to the foundation to keep Cameron’s legacy alive, Victor wants people to know those who do not have money to spare can honor him by just being kind to one another. “Cameron will be very proud of everybody that’s helping and trying to make a difference in the world because that’s what he was trying to do.”