In the rush to see who, in the corporate world, can outdo the others in white self-flagellation, Reddit’s co-founder has resigned from the board of directors – and requested that a black person replace him. From Bloomberg:
Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of the link-sharing site Reddit Inc., announced his resignation from the company’s board of directors Friday and called on the company to replace him with a black candidate…
“I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now,” he wrote on Twitter. “To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop.”
In response to Ohanian, Reddit co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve Huffman wrote in a post that Reddit would honor Ohanian’s request to replace him with a black director. Huffman also wrote that the company would take a stronger stance against racism, though he said that Reddit is still working out the specifics of its new policy.
Alexis Ohanian with wife Serena Williams and daughter on Jan. 12.
Photographer: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
In a video, Ohanian said, “I’m saying this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks what did you do. So, 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.” He has a 2-year-old daughter with his wife, tennis star Serena Williams.
Speaking of self-flagellation, one would think that being married to Serena Williams would be suffering enough. Apparently not. At least Ohanian is practicing what he preaches. I’ll give him that.
Perhaps the rest of America will follow his example, and ALL of our leaders will be black. That way, we can be progressive, and successful, like Nigeria, Congo, Central African Republic… or Haiti.
Speaking of which, I’d like to share a photo that was sent to me by a friend:
