An 18-year-old woman has raised more than $12,500 (approximately €12,000) after claiming her parents stopped supporting her financially because of her boyfriend's skin colour.

Allie Dowdle, 18, from Memphis, Tennessee in the US, created a GoFundMe page, claiming her "parents have chosen to no longer support [her] future."

Ms Dowdle claims that her parents did not react with positivity when introduced to her partner.

She wrote: "About a year ago, I told my parents that I'd started dating a boy named Michael... 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."

The young woman also explains the importance of education in her life and how her father's alleged actions have put restrictions on her academic pursuits, adding that she needs $10,000 to achieve her academic goals.

The statement reads: "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.

"Unfortunately, I will no longer be able to attend college if I cannot come up with the money somehow... 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."

Dowdle states that she is still living with her parents, and this has made it difficult to gain employment because she does "not have consistent transportation available."

Her father, Bill Dowdle, told the New York Daily News that although it may not be his "preference" for his daughter to date a black person, it is not the reason he has cut her off.

He added that he believes his daughter's comments about race are "a justification and gave her the moral high ground."

Mr Dowdle also said that the main issue he had with the relationship was the secrecy involved, before stating: "it became obvious that she needed to go out in the world and grow up."

Online Editors