White teen raises $15,000 for college, says parents cut her off because of black boyfriend

A white high school student who says her parents cut her off after she continued to date her African-American boyfriend despite their ban has raised more than $15,000 in one day through her GoFundMe page.

“About a year ago, I told my parents that I had started dating a boy named Michael, pictured with me above,” writes Allie Dowdle, 18, of Eads, Tennessee. “Hoping to share it with my family, I showed my parents his photo, and the conversation was over before it even started. My father gave me no choice: he told me that I was never allowed to see Michael again. Why? Strictly because of the color of his skin. It wasn't a discreet “no” either. They were expressing how disappointed they were in me, that I could do so much better. I didn't know what to do. I didn't understand how someone could be considered inferior because of their pigments. to understand it and I will never be able to understand it.

After continuing to quietly date Michael — reportedly a college football player named Michael Swift — the couple approached Dowdle's parents again, she says, who then decided to cut it off.

“As I turned 18, my parents chose to no longer support my future, stripping me of all my resources, including my personal savings, my car, my phone, and my education, and leaving me alone to pay for my education academics,” he writes. the teen, who shares that she has maintained a 4.0 GPA since ninth grade at her private school and completed a two-month surgical fellowship at a local hospital. “Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend college again if I can't find the money somehow. » She adds that she received a scholarship and cannot find a job because she does not have “regular means of transportation.”

Allie did not immediately respond to an interview request. Yahoo Beauty also could not reach her father, Bill Dowdle, a sporting goods store owner, who told the Daily News “it was never about race”, that he is not racist and that his daughter's racial history is “a vindication and has given him a moral high ground”. He said he decided to waive his daughter's college tuition because “it became clear that she needed to get out into the world and grow up.”

Although Allie clearly has many supporters due to the remarkable amount of money paid to her in a single day, her cause has also attracted a number of harsh critics, who refer to her campaign as “The Tuition by Allie – Say No to Racism” the kind that is “offensive,” “steeped in privilege,” and “truly insulting.”

“Sending a white girl from a middle-class family to college doesn't fight racism,” noted Marissa Kizer, a GoFundMe commenter. “Actually, expecting to avoid work, student loans, etc. and being treated like a hero for dating a black man seems pretty racist to me.”

Another commenter, Susan Martin, noted: “This campaign is very offensive. Saying no to racism has nothing to do with this situation. Dating a black man and sending a privileged white girl to college who can't get a job because her parents confiscated her car is absolutely ridiculous. Take the bus. This campaign is an absolute insult to the millions of people who have been supporting themselves (and their families) for years, before even “turning 18”, to the millions of people struggling with student debt, to the millions of people of color who face the monster that is racism on a daily basis… Your struggle is so not real.

Detractors also spoke out on social media.

We will update the story if we hear from Allie. But in the meantime, what do you think?

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