Alexis Ohanian Resigns From Reddit and Asks Board to Fill His Seat With a Black Candidate

Mehera Bonner
·3 min read
Photo credit: Jerod Harris - Getty Images
Photo credit: Jerod Harris - Getty Images

From Cosmopolitan

  • Alexis Ohanian has resigned from the board of Reddit.

  • Ohanian co-founded Reddit and is urging them to fill his board seat with a Black candidate.

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has resigned from the board of his company and is urging them to fill his seat with a Black candidate. The tech entrepreneur, who's married to Serena Williams, said his decision is "long overdue" and announced plans to use future gains on Reddit stock to serve the Black community.

"15 years ago I co-founded Reddit as a place for people to find community and a sense of belonging," Ohanian said in an Instagram video. "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?' So, 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 $1 million to Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp. I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now and to everyone fighting to fix our broken nation, do not stop."

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 Jun 5, 2020 at 9:24am PDT

Ohanian's decision comes as the country continues to protest police violence and systemic racism—and he has the full support of Serena Williams. "It’s never easy to walk away from something you helped create," she wrote on Instagram. "But doing something to catalyze change is never easy."

View this post on Instagram

It’s never easy to walk away from something you helped create. But doing something to catalyze change is never easy.

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Jun 5, 2020 at 3:08pm PDT

Here are guides for how to demand justice right now, how to find mental health resources if you’re a Black woman, how to talk to your relatives about Black Lives Matter, how to spot a fake protest story, and how to protest safely.

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