Serena Williams is a staunch defender of the black community, and she was extremely pleased after her husband Alexis Ohanian quit the board of Reddit.
Alexis is the founder of the popular website, but recently Reddit was accused of brewing racist behaviors. Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman was cited for not taking action against communities with racists views. After the unrest caused by George Floyd’s killings, Huffman released the typical (and lame) statement saying “we do not tolerate hate, racism, and violence, and while we have work to do to fight these on our platform, our values are clear.”
Then Ellen Pao, a former interim CEO of Reddit, criticized Huffman’s comments to say that they kept a popular directory “the_donald” that was sharing a lot of racist content.
“I am obligated to call you out: You should have shut down the_donald instead of amplifying it and its hate, racism, and violence. So much of what is happening now lies at your feet. You don’t get to say BLM when Reddit nurtures and monetizes white supremacy and hate all day long,” she said.
Later, “the_donald” subdirectory has been quarantined.
@photocredit Mega
The resignation of Alexis
Serena’s husband Alexis has a great heart and he is definitely not on the side of racists. Therefore, he decided to quit the board of Reddit asking to be replaced by a black person. The board was represented by a woman and 4 white men.
Alexis released the following statement:
“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 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, 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
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.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBD1lm4HPdi/
Serena applauded Alexis’ move to say:
“Having diverse views on any boards is important. So proud of you Alexis. I know Olympia will be too.”
Having diverse views on any boards is important. So proud of you Alexis. I know Olympia will be too https://t.co/kVUaJZoe7v
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 5, 2020
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Serena Williams in 2020
Now ranked no.9, Serena Williams played her last match on the 8th of February when she lost to Anastasija Sevastova 7-65 3-6 7-64 in the Rubber 4 of the Fed Cup.
At present, this year Serena has a 8-2 win-loss record. The American has won 1 title in Auckland.
