"It is long overdue to do the right thing," said Ohanian.
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Ohanian is urging board members to fill his seat with a black candidate. He is also pledging $1 million to former San Fransisco 49er Colin Kaepernick's Know your Rights Camp. The organization works to educate, empower and mobilize black and brown communities.
The tech founder, who married tennis superstar Serena Williams in 2017, says he made the decision for himself, for his family and for his country.
Ohanian says he is taking action because he is a "father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: 'What did you do?''
The couple's daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., is two-years-old.
Ohanian made the announcement Friday in a blog post and shared a video about his decision on Instagram.
Here's Ohanian's post:
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"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 $1 million 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."