Reddit founder resigns as member of company board, will use position to boost black community

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian Sr. has stepped away from the company’s board, saying that he wants to focus his attention on stopping “racial hate.” 

“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,” Ohanian said on his personal website.

He added, “I’m writing this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: ‘What did you do?’”

Ohanian is married to tennis superstar Serena Williams and the couple have a two-year-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

Ohanian said he has urged the Reddit board to fill his position with a “black candidate,” and that he will “use future gains on my Reddit stock to serve the black community, chiefly to curb racial hate.”

“I’m starting with a pledge of $1M to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp,” Ohanian added.