Serena Williams ’ husband Alexis Ohanian made a powerful step for their two-year-old daughter Alexis Olympia and the fight for racial equality. The Reddit co-founder took to his social media to share that he has officially resigned as a member of the Reddit board. Alexis shared the powerful message with his over 1 million followers across different social media platforms. The tech mogul shared that he took the steps “for me, for my family, and for my country.” The most powerful reason was to stand in good faith with his daughter.
“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,” he passionately shared. “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 $1M to @kaepernick7’s @yourrightscamp.”
Alexis added that his decision should be an “act of leadership from people in power right now,” before adding that everyone continuing to fix the nation should not stop. Alexis’ remarks come just over a week after the murder of an unarmed Black man George Floyd – who was killed after a police officer held his knee to his neck for almost 10 minutes. The death has sparked protest across the globe and has opened up conversations about racial injustices towards the African American community.
In the days following the incident, Serena took to her social media to share a video of a young girl speaking to a crowd about the way Black people are treated in America. “I can’t and still can’t find the words to say or express how sad I feel... but she found them for me. She found them for so many of us. A lot of us are numb... lost for words... I know I am. This is a difficult time,” the tennis superstar wrote.
“A lot of us growing up were taught to pray. ‘Let thy kingdom come,’ this is what I continue to pray for in addition to so many that have been hurt/killed, or simply traumatized by how people of a different color are treated. The worst part is this is nothing new, it’s just filmed. I’m with a heavy heart. I’m lost for words.”