REDDIT CO-FOUNDER ALEXIS OHANIAN RESIGNS FROM THE COMPANY’S BOARD
HE WANTS A BLACK CANDIDATE TO REPLACE HIM
Alexis Ohanian, Co-founder of Reddit, announced his resignation from the social network’s board of directors today. He urged Reddit to replace him with a Black candidate and pledged his future gains on the website’s stock to serving the Black community.
Ohanian, who is married to tennis icon Serena Williams, said during his announcement, “I’m writing this as a father who needs to be able to answer his Black daughter when she asks: ‘What did you do?’” He said he will donate $1 million USD to Colin Kaepernick’s ‘Know Your Rights Camp’. “I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now,” he stated. “To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop.”
I've resigned as a member of the reddit board, I have urged them to fill my seat with a black candidate, + I will use future gains on my Reddit stock to serve the black community, chiefly to curb racial hate, and I’m starting with a pledge of $1M to @kaepernick7’s @yourrightscamp
— Alexis Ohanian Sr. 🚀 (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020
Alexis Ohanian’s Reddit, however, has been criticized for hosting forums that promote racist content in the past and profiting off of white supremacy. In 2014 through 2015, Ellen Pao, the company’s former CEO, fought against harassment on the social media platform, but faced backlash and harassment. As a result, Reddit banned popular “alt-right” subreddits on Wednesday in an attempt to curb sexist and racist behavior,
