Sports
Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Donates $1M to Kaepernick Non-Profit
Jim Spellman/Getty ImagesAlexis Ohanian, the husband of tennis superstar Serena Williams, announced Friday he’s resigned from the Reddit board of directors and made a $1 million contribution to the Know Your Rights Camp, founded by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Ohanian, who co-founded Reddit with University of Virginia roommate Steve Huffman in 2005, said…
Jim Spellman/Getty Images
Alexis Ohanian, the husband of tennis superstar Serena Williams, announced Friday he's resigned from the Reddit board of directors and made a $1 million contribution to the Know Your Rights Camp, founded by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Ohanian, who co-founded Reddit with University of Virginia roommate Steve Huffman in 2005, said he urged the remaining board members to fill his spot with a black candidate.
“I co-founded Reddit 15 years ago to help people find community and a sense of belonging,” Ohanian wrote. “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?'”
Alexis Ohanian Sr. 🚀 @alexisohanian
https://t.co/k8Xkj15uaN
Ohanian married Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist, in 2017. They have a daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., who was born in 2017.
The actions taken by Kaepernick in 2016, when he began to kneel during the national anthem as a protest against racial injustice and police brutality, have drawn renewed attention amid worldwide protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd while in Minneapolis Police custody last week.
Kaepernick founded the Know Your Rights Camp in October 2016.
“Our mission is to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders,” the initiative's official website reads.
Ohanian noted that beyond his initial $1 million donation, he'll use “future gains on my Reddit stock to serve the black community.”
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