804 Women Making History: Jackie Horton

Jacqueline Horton is a national community organizer focused on police accountability, systemic misconduct, and racial justice. A Bronx native with deep roots in Hampton Roads, Virginia, she is a proud HBCU graduate of Norfolk State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science, graduating cum laude in May 2020.

Since 2020, Jackie has remained on the front lines of the movement for Black lives, leading grassroots organizing, voter engagement, and long-term relationship-building alongside families and communities impacted by police violence and state harm. Her work has included close collaboration with the families of Xzavier Hill and Kenneth Sharp in Richmond, as well as sustained advocacy with families connected to cases such as Donovon Lynch, Walter Wallace Jr., Sean Monterrosa, and others. Her organizing also extends to fighting wrongful convictions, including visitation and advocacy efforts connected to Terence Richardson at the Petersburg Jail.

In 2020, Jackie received the Woman of Courage Award from the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation in recognition of her fearless advocacy and leadership. In 2022, she worked on Congressman Donald McEachin’s campaign, supporting voter engagement and community outreach efforts prior to his passing. That same year, she relocated to Richmond, Virginia, where she has since remained deeply engaged in local and statewide organizing.

Jackie’s organizing experience spans Black voter mobilization, police reform, Black maternal health, racial justice in higher education, and campaigns addressing systemic misconduct. She has served as both Field Director and Regional Field Director for Black-led voter engagement efforts and has completed fellowships with Woke Vote, the Julius Jones Institute, Birth in Color, and REFORM Alliance.

Since 2024, Jackie has served as Senior Community Organizer at the Center for Policing Equity and is the founder of World Changer Enterprises, an activist-led social justice consulting firm providing justice-centered training and facilitation to build collective power and drive lasting systemic change.