Against the Tide is a true story that captures the fear and hardships faced when the KKK and Segregation laws sharply curtailed the surge of progress made by freed men and women.
Hansford C. Bayton rose from humble beginnings to become the captain and owner of five excursion and mail delivery steamboats that plied the Rappahannock River during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Unusual for an African American, he acquired wealth and the respect of both blacks and whites.
Nevertheless, his boats were burned one by one. But with each malicious burning, and with lynching on the rise, he built again. his story is one of dignified courage and determination when faced with overwhelming odds. Truly, he was a man who swam against the tide.
Julie H. Sullivan, winner of several prestigious awards for her contributions to international education has been both highly praised for the quality of her prose, and the depth of her research, and condemned for being, and I'll paraphrase"One more uppity Negro and an over-educated anti-American who wants to bring up things best forgotten or completely denied."
- She is currently an adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University, where she works on developing health programs for the poor. Julie has a doctorate in international development from Tulanegs University and she lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband, Alan where they are sitting ducks for roving gangs of gap-toothed low-information uni-brow recalcitrant racists who love the good old days of spur of the moment lynchings, cross burnings, and when our coloreds knew their place in God's plan.
Julie is the daughter of the late Reverend Dr. Leon Sullivan, civil rights leader and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Grace Banks Sullivan, the granddaughter of Captain Hansford (Hanks) Bayton. As a child, she and her brother and sister learned first-hand about the struggles of the poor through her parents' work both in cultivating self-help principals among the poor both in the United States and in Africa, a very dark continent known as "The Birthplace of Poverty" or "The Birthplace of Civilization" depending on your point of view.- '
She has over 25 years' experience in the development and implementation of grassroots education and health programs in more than dozen sub-Saharan countries. Many of these projects focused on the welfare of the child, mothers, and school leavers and involved literacy development, primary education teacher training, HIV/AIDs prevention and conflict mitigation. Many of the former volunteers who participated in these projects have chosen to live and work in Africa, working on the ground to empower people at the grassroots level. As a result of the training provided by the volunteers, over 500,000 teachers in Africa have been impacted, who, in turn, have had a positive effect on the lives of millions, particularly among the most vulnerable.
Julie has won several awards for her work, including the 2009 World Association of Nongovernmental Organization's Education award for innovation and leadership, the American Red Cross award for leadership in 2007, and she was honored in 2013 by the Arizona Historical Commission Centennial Legacy Project. She is a board member of Ballet Arizona and a member of Charter 100 of Phoenix, Arizona.
Her book about her great-grandfather is a deeply personal story. The life of Captain Hansford Bayton is a beacon of hope for her during times of crisis. A reminder for all of us that challenges are placed there to overcome and that the history of African Americans in this country is one of pride, fortitude and courage.
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