- Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian Sr. announced he is resigning from the board of directors at the social news aggregation company
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian Sr. (known as username kn0thing on Reddit) announced he is resigning from the board of directors at the social news aggregation company. And he is calling on the company to replace him with a black candidate.
Known as being one of the most popular websites, Reddit has dealt with many controversial issues in the past, but it also has driven many positive programs like Secret Santa exchanges and “Ask Me Anything.” Ohanian had stepped down from the day-to-day work at Reddit back in 2018, but stayed on the board as an executive chairman.
“I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now,” wrote Ohanian in a tweet. “To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop.”
Ohanian also said in a video that he would use future gains in his Reddit stock for serving the black community, mainly to “curb racial hate.” Tennis legend Serena Williams and Ohanian have a two-year-old daughter. Ohanian and Williams got married in November 2017.
Former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao had criticized the company’s management for not shutting down the “the_donald” subreddit following the Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.
“I am obligated to call you out: You should have shut down the_donald instead of amplifying it and its hate, racism, and violence. So much of what is happening now lies at your feet. You don’t get to say BLM when reddit nurtures and monetizes white supremacy and hate all day long,” said Pao in a tweet.
Ohanian said he was pledging $1 million towards the Know Your Rights Camp, which is a nonprofit founded by former NFL star Colin Kaepernick.
Here is a video that Ohanian posted about the decision:
— Alexis Ohanian 🇦🇲 (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020
