A white high school senior who says her parents cut her
off financially after she continued, despite them forbidding it, to date her
African-American boyfriend, has raised more than $15,000 in a day through
her GoFundMe page.
“About a year ago, I told my parents that I’d started
dating a boy named Michael, pictured with me above,” writes Allie Dowdle, 18, of Eads, Tenn. “Hoping
to share him with my 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. It wasn’t a quiet ‘no,’ either. I’ll never forget the yelling my
parents did, when they expressed how disappointed they were in me, that I could
do so much better. I did not know what to do. 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.”
After continuing to discreetly date Michael — reportedly a college soccer player named Michael Swift — the couple again approached Dowdle’s parents, she says,
who then decided to cut her off.
“As I am 18, my parents have chosen 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 on my own to pay for college,” 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 surgery
fellowship at a local hospital. “Unfortunately, I will no longer be able to
attend college if I cannot come up with the money somehow.” She adds that she’s
received some scholarship money, and cannot find a job because she does not
have “consistent transportation available.”
Allie did not immediately respond to a request for an
interview. Yahoo Beauty also was unable to reach her father, Bill Dowdle, the
owner of a sporting goods store, who told the Daily
News “it was never about race,” that
he is not a racist, and that his daughter’s race-based story is “a
justification and gave her the moral high ground.” He explained that he
decided to cut off his daughter’s college money because “it became obvious that she
needed to go out in the world and grow up.”
Although Allie clearly has a lot of supporters based on
the remarkable amount of money she’s been given in just one day, her cause has
also attracted a number of harsh critics, who call her campaign, titled
“Allie’s Tuition – Say No to Racism,” one that is “offensive,” “steeped
in privilege,” and “really insulting.”
“Sending a white girl from a middle-class family to
college is not fighting racism,” noted
one GoFundMe commenter, Marissa Kizer. “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.”
Another commenter, Susan Martin, noted, “This
campaign is highly 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 took away her car is absolutely
ridiculous. Take a bus. This campaign is an absolute insult to the millions of
people who have been supporting themselves (and their families) for years, even
before ‘they were 18,’ the millions of people struggling with student loan
debt, the millions of people of color who are confronted with the behemoth that
is racism everyday… Your struggle is so not real.”
Detractors
also spoke up on social media that this girl really thinks she deserves money
for dating a Black man. She's getting her college paid for, like? People have
actually donated to this. Why am I even surprised. Reminds me of another
gofundme this white girl set up with a goal of $120 million to "find
herself" LMAO. I guess growing out musty dreads and wearing
headpieces isn't as fulfilling these days. The entitlement is boggling.
We’ll update the story if
we hear back from Allie. But in the meantime, what do you think? Please, drop
your comment.
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