Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Politics/National
NationalNews

Teen Raises $17K to Let 1,000 Girls See ‘A Wrinkle In Time’

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

A year after she raised money to send 100 girls to see “Hidden Figures,” 14-year-old Taylor Richardson has done it bigger for a different film. The aspiring astronaut has collected over $17,000 to send 1,000 girls to see “A Wrinkle In Time.”

Jacksonville, Fla., resident Richardson bested her $15,000 goal in two months. Now, hundreds of girls will be able to see a story about Meg, a young Black girl who goes on a fantasy-filled journey with her brother and friend to rescue her father from another planet.

The member of Teen Vogue’s 21 under 21 class also expressed the importance of representation on her GoFundMe page.

“I want girls — especially those of color — to see this movie and know that not only can they touch the stars they already are ones!” the TEDx FSCJ panelist wrote. “Maxine Waters says she’s ‘reclaiming her time,’ well, we girls are becoming the ‘Warriors’ and we are ‘reclaiming our STEM!’ With your donation, it will help me help girls dream bigger and become more Megs in this world!”

“Supporting this project means you support not only diversity but gender equality in STEM and our films,” the self-described STEMinist added. “KIDS NEED REPRESENTATION so that they can take pride in who they are and know that they are more than capable of being anything they put their minds to. Help us be warriors we know we can be in STEM!”

This isn’t the first time Richardson, who at 9-years-old raised money to go to Space Camp, has used GoFundMe to help young girls see themselves on screen. In 2017, she raised nearly $20,000 to send 100 girls to see “Hidden Figures.”

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top