Marcus Rashford inspires black history children's book

Author Sally Penni hopes the book will encourage young people to talk more about racism

The racist abuse directed at England footballer Marcus Rashford has helped inspire a woman to write a children's book celebrating black history.

Where Are You From? by barrister Sally Penni was created to coincide with Black History Month in October.

She wrote it after Manchester United star Rashford's mural was vandalised following England's Euro 2020 defeat.

Ms Penni says she hopes the book will enhance children's schooling and be a "catalyst" to talk more about racism.

Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were targeted with racist abuse after they missed penalties in the final at Wembley.

A mural honouring Rashford in Withington, Manchester was also defaced with graffiti before people left thousands of messages in solidarity for him.

Footballer Marcus Rashford is one of the people celebrated in the book

Ms Penni, of Manchester, said."I was so appalled after the Euro final. I just thought instead of just moaning about racism why don't I do something.

"Why don't I write a book about black history?"

The book illustrated by the author's brother Julian D Penni, features key moments and personalities from history, including Britain's first black policewoman Sislin Fay Allen, anti-racism activist Claudia Jones and Rashford himself.

Ms Penni, who was appointed an MBE for services to diversity in the workplace, social mobility and law last year, includes 31 figures in the book - one for each day of October when Black History Month is marked.

Thousands of messages were posted at Rashford's mural in defiance of the vandals

However, not all the people celebrated in the book are black.

Ms Penni also writes about the white female mill workers in Rochdale who refused to handle slave-grown cotton in the mid-19th century.

"I'm really proud of it," the mother-of-three told BBC Radio Manchester.

"It is not just black history, it is all our British history. And it contains people who made a big difference."

The author said although she wanted the book to be a history lesson, she also wanted children to realise racism and prejudice are not just features of the past.

She added: "I hope the book will be a catalyst for talking about how racism still plays a significant part in black people's experiences of living in the UK today."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]