Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian Resigns From Board, Believes Move Can Be An ‘Act Of Leadership’
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian announced his resignation from the website’s board in a message posted on Friday afternoon to his personal website. Reddit is one of the most popular websites in the world, with an Alexa ranking as the 20th most trafficked globally with over 330 million visitors. The move to step down comes as protests against police brutality have overcome the nation, spurred by the death of George Floyd.
In his message, Ohanian specifically cited the desire to promote racial equality as the reason for his decision to step down (via AlexisOhanian.com).
Ohanian began his resignation announcement by stating that he co-founded Reddit — which has been called the “front-page” of the internet — 15 years ago as a way to offer users of the web a “community” and “sense of belonging.”
However, after his brief introduction, Ohanian quickly shifted to his motivation behind the unanticipated decision.
“It is long overdue to do the right thing. I’m doing this for me, for my family, and for my country,” he continued.
“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 emotionally added.
Ohanian shares a daughter, Alexis Jr., with tennis champion Serena Williams. Alexis Jr., known as Olympia, is currently 2 years old.
“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,” Ohanian continued.
The tech guru wrote that as a way to show his commitment to his statement, he was pledging $1 million to former NFL star Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.
“I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now,” Ohanian added.
In his conclusion, Ohanian stated that he supported those who were working to fix the system, urging “do not stop.”
In addition to posting the message on his website, Ohanian also posted a video of himself reading the statement to Instagram. The clip earned close to 1,000 comments within the first hour of posting.
This is not the first time that Ohanian has voiced his commitment to racial justice. Earlier this week, he posted a moving video of a young girl discussing her experience with bigotry.
Meanwhile, Ohanian is not the only famous face to urge action in the wake of the death of George Floyd. For example, rapper Kanye West recently joined the protests in Chicago after announcing his commitment to cover the college education of Gianna, Floyd’s daughter.
