Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has resigned from the board of the social media platform, pledging support to the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests following the violent death of black man George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.
The entrepreneur, known with the username 'kn0thing' on Reddit, made the announcement online. The Florida-based businessman has also urged the other board members to replace his position with a black candidate in the wake of the Floyd case with people chanting 'Black Lives Matters' throughout the world.
Who is Alexis Ohanian?
The 37-year-old, born to Armenian father and German mother, migrated to the US following the Armenian Genocide. He is married to professional tennis player Serena Williams. The couple has a 2-year-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian.
Ohanian said that he took the decision to quit from the company for the sake of his family comprising black members as well as for his country.
Ohanian has also promised to use future gains on his Reddit stock to serve the black community, in an attempt to curb racial hate. He has also pledged a million dollars to former NFL star Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp. Through his social media post, the tech entrepreneur has also requested the people to not stop fighting to fix the broken nation.
Ohanian also shared a video message on the same on his Instagram handle.
Will Reddit Replace Ohanian's Position with a Black Candidate?
It was 15 years ago that Ohanian co-founded the Reddit website along with his friends Aaron Swartz and Steve Huffman. Soon after he announced his resignation, Reddit's chief executive Steve Huffman confirmed that the company will honor Ohanian's request.
"Alexis Ohanian (u/kn0thing), my Reddit cofounder, announced that he is resigning from our board and that he wishes for his seat to be filled with a Black candidate, a request that the board and I will honor. We thank Alexis for this meaningful gesture and all that he's done for us over the years," he wrote in the official statement released on Friday. Huffman has also promised that the company has decided to update its content moderation policies to explicitly address hate.
