Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian quits board and asks for black replacement amid protests over death of George Floyd

The co-founder of Reddit has resigned from the board of the social media site and urged the company to replace him with a black candidate.

Alexis Ohanian linked his decision to protests around the globe over the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after a police officer pressed his knee against his neck for nearly nine minutes, even after he stopped pleading for air and became unresponsive.

The entrepreneur, who is married to tennis star Serena Williams, said he made the decision for the sake of his daughter.

In a blog post, Mr Ohanian wrote: “I’m writing this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: 'What did you do?'"

He added: "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."

He pledged to use future gains on his Reddit stock to “serve the black community, chiefly to curb racial hate”.

He also said he would give one million US dollars (£780,000) to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.

Former NFL player Kaepernick is known for kneeling to protest against police brutality and racism in 2016.

Reddit, based in San Francisco, calls itself “the front page of the internet” and has millions of users.

The death of Mr Floyd last month set off the most serious wave of civil unrest in the US since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jnr in 1968.

The incident has prompted demonstrations across the world, with protesters marching against inequality, police brutality and other problems in their own countries.