A Tennessee teenager set up a GoFundMe page early this week after her parents’ allegedly stopped supporting her financially because she was with a black student.
Allie Dowdle, 18, of Memphis said on the fundraising page that she has been dating her boyfriend, Michael, for about a year, but her parents are having a difficult time accepting him into the family.
“I showed my parents his picture, and the conversation was over before it even began. My dad did not give me an option: he told me that I was not allowed to see Michael ever again. Why? Strictly because of skin color,” she wrote on the page, adding that her parents were disappointed in her telling her that she “could do so much better.”
“I couldn't comprehend how someone could be seen as less because of pigment. I still can't comprehend it, and I never will be able to,” she added.
Nonetheless, Dowdle continued to see Michael discreetly --- until a month ago. They both decided to approach her parents once more, “but their response was much more drastic than I could've ever expected,” she wrote.
The 18-year-old private school student said that her parents are no longer supporting her future, “stripping me of all my resources including my personal savings, my car, my phone, and my education and leaving me on my own to pay for college.”
Dowdle, who currently has a 4.0 GPA, said she does not have the funds to attend college due to her financial situation.
"I've applied and received some scholarship money through financial aid, including grants, loans, and work-study, but I still need at least $10,000 to cover the first year of my remaining out of pocket tuition for college by May 1st,” she wrote.
Dowdle created the GoFundMe page on Jan.11, and since then she has raised a total of $14,583 surpassing her $10k goal as of Friday afternoon. However, some commenters weren’t too fond of paying for her education.
“Sending a white girl from a middle-class family to college is not fighting racism,” user Marissa Kizer said. “In fact, expecting to avoid work, student loans, etc. and be treated like a hero for dating a black guy seems pretty racist to me.”
Dowdle mentioned that she is incapable of getting a job due to a lack of a consistent transportation.
“All of this because I love another human being, as I was taught to do. How could my love for another person be wrong because of his skin color? And why would that make me unworthy of a future I've worked so hard for?” she said.
Also, there are others who have commended her and was told to be “rooting” for her.
“Congrats on sticking to your morals and values, and for pursuing college as well! Go get your education, a sick job, and date whomever you want. Best of luck to both of you cuties and thank you for being on the right side of history,” Euri Park wrote. “… there are thousands of people out there rooting for you! With love from Portland, OR.”
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