Alexis Ohanian Urges Reddit Board to Fill His Seat With a Black Candidate

This morning, Alexis Ohanian announced that he would be giving up his seat on the board at Reddit, a company that he co-founded 15 years ago. In an Instagram video explaining his decision, Ohanian said that he hopes the board fills his vacant seat with a Black candidate.

Ohanian said that as the father of a Black daughter — he shares 2-year-old Alexis Olympia Ohanian with wife Serena Williams — he wanted to look back on this moment and know that he did the right thing, noting that the decision was made with his family, himself, and the country as a whole in mind.

"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," he captioned the video. "I’m saying 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."

Mike Coppola/MG19 / Contributor

In addition to his resignation, Ohanian stated that he'd continue to be an ally, saying that he would use his Reddit stock gains to serve the Black community. The first order of business was a $1M donation to Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp. He also urged any and everyone working to fight the systemic racism in the United States to continue their hard work.

RELATED: Alexis Ohanian Thinks People Need to Take Paternity Leave More Seriously

"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 $1 million to @kaepernick7’s @yourrightscamp," he said. "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."

Prior to today's news, Ohanian had posted in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, telling those in power to "do better."