Virginia Abernethy facts for kids

Virginia Deane Abernethy, born in 1934, is an American anthropologist. An anthropologist studies human societies and cultures. She is also known as an activist who supports certain political ideas. She describes herself as an "ethnic separatist," meaning she believes different ethnic groups are more comfortable living separately.

She is a retired professor of psychiatry from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She has written about how populations change and about people moving from one country to another, which is called immigration. In 2012, she ran for Vice President of the United States. She was the running mate for Merlin Miller with the American Freedom Party. This party supports ideas about white nationalism.

Early Life and Education

Virginia Deane Abernethy was born in 1934 in Cuba. Her parents were American. She grew up in Argentina and New York City. She went to the Riverdale Country School in New York.

She earned her first degree from Wellesley College. Later, she received a business degree from Vanderbilt University. In 1970, she earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Career and Ideas

In the early 1970s, Abernethy worked as a researcher and teacher at Harvard Medical School. She later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to work at Vanderbilt University. She described this move in her 2023 book, Born Abroad. She said she was very happy to leave Massachusetts for Tennessee.

She worked at Vanderbilt for 20 years, from 1975 to 1999. She started as an assistant professor and became a full professor in 1980. Even after retiring in 1999, she still has an office there as a professor emerita. This means she is a retired professor who keeps her title. She is also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Abernethy has strong views against immigration. She believes that people moving into the United States can cause problems. She thinks they might make jobs less valuable and use up important resources. She also claims that immigration from some countries has led to more diseases in the U.S. She says she is not racist and points to her friendship with Jesse Lee Peterson.

In 2004, she wrote a letter to The Washington Times. She said she preferred to be called an "ethnic separatist" instead of a "racial separatist." In 2012, the Anti-Defamation League described her as a "white supremacist."

In 2011, she joined the board of directors for the American Third Position party. This party is now called the American Freedom Party. It is a party that mainly supports white people. She was later chosen to run for Vice President for this party. In the 2012 United States presidential election, she and Merlin Miller received about 12,900 votes.

Fertility-Opportunity Idea

Her research looks at how human populations grow and how different cultures behave. She created an idea called the "fertility-opportunity hypothesis." This idea suggests that people have more children when they feel they have more economic chances.

A part of this idea is that giving food aid to developing countries might actually lead to more people being born. She believes that this can make overpopulation worse. Instead, she supports giving small loans, called microloans, to women. She thinks these loans help families improve their lives without causing more births.

She has also argued against programs that aim to help poorer countries grow economically. She believes these programs can sometimes lead to more population growth. In 1994, she wrote an article for The Atlantic Monthly. In it, she said that efforts to reduce poverty often cause populations to grow. She also wrote that immigration can have a similar effect. She believes that too much hope for money and opportunities can lead to higher birth rates. This, she argues, can harm the environment and the economy.

Roles and Writings

From 1989 to 1999, Virginia Abernethy was the editor of an academic journal called Population and Environment. She also worked on the editorial board for The Citizen Informer. This was a newsletter for the Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC). This group supports ideas related to the old Southern Confederacy. She also appeared on a radio show linked to the CofCC called The Political Cesspool. Abernethy often speaks at meetings for the CofCC.

In 2004, she was listed as an advisor for The Occidental Quarterly. This is a journal that supports white nationalist ideas. She remained on its board until 2013. She also serves on the board of directors for the Carrying Capacity Network. This group works to reduce immigration and promote sustainability. She is also on the board of Population-Environment BALANCE. This group wants to stop immigration to keep the population size balanced with available resources. However, some people say Population-Environment BALANCE promotes a right-wing agenda under the name of environmentalism.

Abernethy has written or edited several books. These include Population Politics: The Choices that Shape our Future (1993) and Population Pressure and Cultural Adjustment (1979). She has also written articles for magazines like Chronicles and The Atlantic Monthly. She has also written for many academic journals. She has also contributed to the website VDARE. Some of her writings from VDARE have been shared by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).

In June 2018, Abernethy spoke at a conference. This conference was held by the American Freedom Party and the Council of Conservative Citizens. Other speakers included Kevin MacDonald and David Duke.

In 2012, the Anti-Defamation League called Abernethy an "unabashed white supremacist." The Southern Poverty Law Center called her a "full-fledged professor of hate." They added her to a list of new activists on the radical right. Abernethy has said she is not a "white supremacist." She prefers to call herself an "ethnic separatist."

Protect Arizona Now

She was involved in a campaign in Arizona called Proposition 200. She led the National Advisory Board for the Protect Arizona Now (PAN) committee. This committee supported Proposition 200 in the 2004 election. Proposition 200 passed. It limited access to government help for immigrants who did not have legal papers. It also required proof of citizenship to register to vote.

During the campaign, a journalist asked her about her views. She explained the difference between being a separatist and a supremacist. She said, "Groups tend to self-segregate." She added, "I know that I'm not a supremacist. I know that ethnic groups are more comfortable with their own kind."

See also

In Spanish: Virginia Abernethy para niños