Ohanian resigns; Asks Reddit to hire black board member

On Friday, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from his position on the board in the midst of nationwide frustration and tension over police brutality and racial inequality.

"I have urged them to fill my seat with a black candidate," he said in a video statement on Twitter. "I believe resignation can actually mean active leadership for the people in power right now."

Ohanian moved away from his Reddit daily duties in 2018 but maintained a seat on the board.

Reddit came to life to create a safe place where people could discuss a variety of topics without judgement. The move from Ohanian is one that will not go unnoticed especially due to Reddit's shaky track record around racial issues. The social platform has seen its fair share of violent and harmful content floating around in subcommunities and has faced a number of diversity issues internally.

"It is long overdue to to do the right thing," Ohanian said. "I'm doing this for me, for my family and for my country. I'm saying this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks, 'What did you do?'"

The 37-year-old is the husband of Serena Williams and the father of 2-year-old Alexis Olympia Jr.

This is not the first time Ohanian has been an advocate for change. He has spoken out about getting equitable, flexible paid family leave for fathers. His first-hand experience of working while becoming a father motivated him to fight for others seeking paternity leave.

In his resignation statement, Ohanian added that his future gains of the company's stock will be invested into the black community. He pledged $1 million to Colin Kaepernick's "Know Your Rights" organization, which strives to advance the liberation and well-being of black and brown communities.

“To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation," Ohanian said. "Do not stop."