17-year-old who slammed UoB for ‘racism’ achieves honorary doctorate

Yesterday, local activist Mya-Rose Craig, 17, became the youngest person in the UK to have received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bristol.

She has previously criticised the university for racism.

Craig stated in a recent tweet that the SU officers who wrote an open letter regarding alleged racism at Bristol Uni were “stealing & putting forward their ideas & solutions as their own.”

She said that this amounts to ‘racism’ at Bristol University and within Bristol SU.

This follows tweets in 2019 condemning the uni, and one in 2018 where she said: “Bristol Uni needs to sort out its degrading racism for students first before we can recommend it to anyone BAME”.

Craig, who uses the Twitter handle ‘BirdgirlUK’ is a prominent nature campaigner. She took part in both Bristol Extinction Rebellion and Youth Strike for Climate movements.

She set up an organisation called ‘Black2Nature’ in order to engage young people from minority backgrounds to engage with nature and the outdoors.

She was nominated for the honorary doctorate by Professor Rich Pancost, Head of the School of Earth Sciences.

Pancost said: “In addition to being a world-leading ornithologist, she has delivered over 50 inspirational talks and is a passionate advocate for the need to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in both the conservation sector and the climate change movement.

He told the BBC: “To bestow a comparable honour on someone who is only 17 years old is not a decision we take lightly.

“It is reserved for those who are leading truly special projects, courageous projects, transformative projects”, adding that she is a “super hero.”