Jimmie Horton remembers vividly the first class he taught in Davenport.
Horton had moved to the Quad-Cities after graduating from Jackson State College in 1972. Horton was one of 12 siblings raised in the segregated South by loving parents who instilled in them a love of God, a desire to pursue education and advocate for human rights.
A principal had heard of Horton’s desire to teach, and gave him a job. In some ways, Iowa was different. In the South, he had experienced segregated buses, water fountains and other public places.
In Iowa: “My first class of 27 wonderful children — I had whites, Blacks, Hispanics, all different nationalities and races,” Horton said. “It was just a joy to be able to love those precious children, and they saw me in the light of someone who cared for them.”
Horton, now 76 years old, went on to teach in Davenport schools for 25 years, educating students in fifth and sixth grades in reading, writing, arithmetic, social studies and music.
Heeding a call to ministry, he founded and pastored Gospel Mission Temple Church, which he has led for 41 years. The desire to mentor students never left, however. Horton spearheaded building the church’s education center in 2003, which offers child care, pre-school, after-school and summer enrichment programs for children.
Horton also served for nine years on Davenport’s Affirmative Action Commission, served as director of religious affairs for the local NAACP, and serves on several boards in the Quad-Cities as well as the executive Board of Bishops for the Gospel Church, with headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
For these and more, the Davenport Metrocom NAACP awarded Horton its highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was presented at the Metrocom NAACP’s annual banquet Saturday evening.
“It was joyfully and overwhelmingly accepted,” Horton said of his reaction to receiving the award. “And it reminded me of how blessed I am to have been in a position to touch the lives of so many people and to carry on the legacy of my parents, who taught us to love God and all people. And that we love them by serving.”
Horton was motivated to get involved with the NAACP as a junior in high school. The year he graduated, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Horton’s father was a pastor and heavily involved in the Civil Rights movement. Both inspired Horton’s lifelong passion for equity.
“I grew up in the segregated South,” Horton said. “We encountered, firsthand, segregation. But we were taught to not become bitter, and as a result of that, we have been able to interact with all people without being judgmental.”
Horton’s parents, who were married for 75 years and each lived past their 100th birthdays, supported each other and made sure that their 12 children “who were in this unjust system, were not tarnished by it,” he said.
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One of the memories that stands out most in Horton’s mind is when he worked at McDonald’s in early adulthood.
“I was allowed only to do the kind of work that was stereotyped for Blacks,” Horton said. “I learned to be kind, but not acceptable of those conditions, and it motivated me to one day do something to counteract, to change.
“…Although that was discrimination, I was convinced that one day that would change,” Horton said. “And today we have minorities that are owners of franchise.”
Horton said, he has personally demonstrated how to forge on and be positive when others are negative. He said he taught his children to love and that they did not have to accept unacceptable behavior.
“I taught them that they will win with love,” Horton said. “Rather than hate or prejudice.”
In the 53 years he’s lived in Davenport, Horton said, he believes there has been progress in every facet of the community, especially in employment opportunities and equal rights. But, he said, “we have much more to accomplish.”
“I’m convinced that prejudice is a heart and mind thing,” Horton said. “I think it has to be a change of heart because this is not something that we can change by going to the polls or this kind of thing, but I think we have to learn to love people regardless as to their color. And as Martin Luther King said, ‘injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'”
Horton said his father, whose attained an eighth-grade education, encouraged his children to continue their education. In addition to graduating from Jackson State with a Bachelor of Science in education, Horton has a Master of Science degree in guidance and counseling; holds a permanent professional educator certificate from the Iowa State Board of Education’ and a Doctor of Divinity degree from St. Thomas Christian College in Jacksonville, Florida.
And, Horton said, he has encouraged his three children to pursue their educations as well — his oldest is a physician, the middle child has a degree in culinary arts and his youngest has a business degree.
His wife Michelle was also a long-time educator and partner in the Gospel Temple church.
Having a loving family is among his proudest achievements, Horton said.
“Bishop Horton is highly respected throughout the Quad Cities and even abroad as a compassionate clergyman, social activist, and educator,” according to the NAACP program notes.
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Sarah Watson
Davenport, Scott County, local politics
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