Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian has announced that he’s vacating his seat on the board of the company he founded fifteen years ago, so that a black person can take his spot.
He released a statement about his decision overnight, saying:
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 writing 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 Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp. 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.
Alexis Ohanian married Serena Williams in 2017, and the couple have a daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian.
He said that he believes the Reddit board will follow through, and in a follow-up statement, announced he has no plans to get a haircut as “the lion’s mane must thrive.”
Also:
No, I have no plans to get a haircut anytime soon.
This lion’s mane must thrive. 🦁— Alexis Ohanian 🧠 (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020
