After the death of George Floyd, The US has erupted into protests and riots for Black lives. The latest person to support this movement is Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
Just yesterday, Ohanion who co-founded Reddit 15 years ago posted on his social media platforms that he has resigned from the board of the company.
I co-founded @reddit 15 years ago to help people find community and a sense of belonging.⁰
— Alexis Ohanian Sr. 🚀 (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020
It is long overdue to do the right thing. I’m doing this for me, for my family, and for my country.
In the post, he said that he is trying to set an example for other leaders by stepping down. He urged Reddit to fill his seat with a black candidate.
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
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.https://t.co/LWI1OnCaVi
— Alexis Ohanian Sr. 🚀 (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020
Ohanian, who is married to tennis star Serena Williams, cited his family as one of the reasons for his decision.
It’s long overdue to do the right thing,” Ohanian said in a video posted online. I’m saying this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks ‘What did you do? To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop.
— Alexis Ohanian Sr. 🚀 (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020
After the resignation took place, Reddit said it would honour Ohanian’s request. Counting him, Reddit board comprised of one woman and four white men.
According to Buisness Insider, Reddit has long wrestled with addressing hateful and racist content on its platform. Earlier this week, some of Reddit’s most popular threads went private in an effort to protest hate speech and racism on the platform.