Teen Claims Parents 'Cut Her Off' Over Black Boyfriend, Raises $10,000
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A teenager has raised thousands of dollars for her college tuition after she claims her parents cut her off because she is dating a black man.
Allie Dowdle, 18, of Tennessee claims her parents rejected her boyfriend Michael strictly because of his race.
Dowdle has created a GoFundMe page which has raised more than $14,000 for her college tuition.
The teen posted on that page that she and Michael had been secretly disobeying her parents' wishes by seeing each other.
She claims when her parents found out over Christmas they decided to "no longer support my future."
Dowdle claims they took away her car, her phone, and said they would no longer pay for her to go to college.
Her father told the NY Daily News that his daughter dating a black man may not be his preference because of the issues involved with biracial dating in the south.
He told the paper that it was "never about race" but disapproved because Allie started seeing Michael in secret.
Bill Dowdle said he decided to cut her off because "it became obvious that she needed to go out in the world and grow up."
The GoFundMe account has received nearly 600 donations as of Friday.
Needless to say it's garnered a lot of publicity both positive and negative.
One user saying: "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."
Other users support Allie: "Some people won't get it & they never will. I hope you raise all the money necessary and that one day your parents will come around and realize that their love for you should far exceed their selfish & racist motives. Good luck & God bless you."
