BT is celebrating Black British History with a series of educational and inspiring content starring Marcus Rashford, Rio Ferdinand, Anton Ferdinand and Eni Aluko who will be sharing their stories and online resources to help educate the nation on Black British history.

Earlier this year, BT formed Hope United, a diverse team of footballers who came together from across the Home Nations to educate the country on the digital skills needed to tackle online hate. This month, BT will continue its message of hope and inclusion, releasing a new series of bitesize educational films, featuring four members of the Hope United squad. A breakdown of the three films can be found below:

The first film released will see Rio and Anton Ferdinand discuss Standing Firm: Football’s Windrush Story, a documentary that premiered exclusively on BT Sport on September 28. The footballers, who both feature in the film, will point viewers to the BT Sport website and App where anyone will be able to watch this documentary for free to learn more about the legacy and impact the Windrush generation, their descendants and continued Caribbean migration, has had on English football and the national team.

Eni Aluko will feature in the second episode in the content series, sharing her passion for football’s Black pioneers Emma Clarke and Laurie Cunningham, the first Black football player to represent England in a competitive international match. Eni will encourage viewers to visit Nubian Jak Community Trust – the only commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme focussed on commemorating contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain.

The final film will feature footballer Marcus Rashford as he explores the important role literature plays in introducing young people to Black British history in their early years of school. The episode will see Marcus share recommendations and a carefully curated list of books for parents and carers to inspire and help children and young people discover more about black history and culture.  The list will be available on the Pan Macmillan website, www.panmacmillan.com and will feature books and resources by authors including Floella Benjamin, David Olusoga and Lenny Henry and illustrators such as Diane Ewen and Dapo Adeola.

“I joined Hope United because I want to help make a difference and beat online hate for good. I believe that education is the key to a more inclusive world and to help in the fight back against racism whether that is on social media or in real life.  I hope that by sharing learning from the past and the importance of black history we will build a more inclusive society.” 

Rio Ferdinand

All three pieces of content will drive viewers to bthopeunited.com/ where they can access resources to educate themselves further on Black British history.