[5] She graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, attended Wiley College in Marshall, Texas and received her BA from Langston University.

Horner was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 1986 and served for over 18 years until 2005, when she retired due to term limits.

During her time in office, she played a major role in passing legislation that created OHLAP, the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program, which funds scholarships to Oklahoma colleges for students from families that earn $50,000 or less in income.

Credited with legislation founding the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, she is best known for her commitment to education and the arts.

Horner was inducted in the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in 2007, the Oklahoma Afro-American Hall of Fame in 1999, and received the Pinnacle Award from the Tulsa Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women in 1993.