#BlackLivesMatter: Reddit Co-Founder Quits Board, Asks For Black Replacement

Co-founder of Reddit and husband of tennis star Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian, has resigned as the board member of the popular social media company and urged the firm to replace him with a member from the black community.

“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,” Ohanian wrote in a blog post.

In a Twitter thread, he said he was doing it “as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: ‘What did you do?’"

I co-founded @reddit 15 years ago to help people find community and a sense of belonging.⁰

It is long overdue to do the right thing. I’m doing this for me, for my family, and for my country.

— Alexis Ohanian Sr. (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020

The move comes in the wake of massive protests against police brutality and racial inequality across America after the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd.

“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,” said Ohanian, who co-founded the social media company with his college pals, Aaron Swartz and Steve Huffman, 15 years ago.

Mr. Ohanian, who stepped down from daily duties in 2018 also pledged $1M to Know Your Rights Camp, a non-profit started by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

But the website has faced a backlash from different communities over its lax hate speech policies which allow several racist forums to flourish unabated. Reddit’s Ex-chief executive Ellen K Pao also cornered Ohanian in a tweet, saying: “You don’t get to say [Black Lives Matter] when Reddit nurtures and monetizes white supremacy and hate all day long.”