Reddit Co-Founder Resigns from Board, Asks for Black Replacement

Alexis Ohanian Reddit
nrkbeta/Flickr

In a video posted to Instagram, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian announced that he had resigned from the company’s board and requested that his position be filled by “a black candidate.”

In a video posted to his personal Instagram account, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who is married to Serena Williams, announced that he had resigned from the Reddit board. During the video, Ohanian states: “I’m saying this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks ‘what did you do?'”

View this post on Instagram

I co-founded @reddit 15 years ago to help people find community and a sense of belonging.
 It is long overdue to do the right thing. I’m doing this for me, for my family, and for my country. I’m saying this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: “What did you do?” I have resigned as a member of the reddit board, I have urged them to fill my seat with a black candidate, and 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
 I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now. To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop.

A post shared by Alexis Ohanian Sr. (@alexisohanian) on

He then goes on to state that he has resigned as a member of the board of Reddit and requested that his seat be filled by a “black candidate.” In a post on his private website, Ohanian’s full statement reads:

I have resigned as a member of the reddit board, I have urged them to fill my seat with a black candidate, and 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 Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.

I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now. To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop. 

Ohanian also posted a video originally uploaded by tennis player Serena Williams, writing in his caption for the video: “This is from 2016. White America, we need to #DoBetter.”

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com

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