Professor Neil Foley from the University of Texas at Austin discussed Hispanic identity in America Monday night in the Moot Courtroom of Swen Parson Hall.

The lecture was entitled “Straddling the Color Line.” Foley said that people have confusions about the color line.

“Most people understand the color line as being black and white,” Foley said. “The problem now, though, isn’t the color line. It’s color lines as they seem to be multiplying.”

Foley went on to explain how many who would be considered Hispanic marked “white” or “other” on surveys.

“There’s confusion about Hispanics in the United States,” Foley said. “Before 1980, we didn’t hear about Hispanics.”

Olivia Rodriguez, a sophomore electrical engineering major, said Foley was very informational and that Hispanics marking “white” shocked her.

“As a Hispanic, one thinks we’re being represented, but many Hispanics are claiming “white” and it affects our representation,” Rodriguez said.

Foley then explained three different court cases that helped explain Hispanic identity.

“Race is a cultural construction,” he said. “It’s all politics, racial politics.”

A court case in 1897 argued that only whites could become naturalized citizens.

In 1954, “busing” was introduced in order to desegregate and integrate schools, but the courts found that only Hispanic and black schools were forced to do the busing.

History graduate student Carl Lindskoog also enjoyed the lecture.

“I think he was really good, and I learned a lot in different areas,” Lindskoog said. “This is relevant to what I’m doing research on for my Master’s thesis.”

After Foley finished, he asked the audience for questions and answered them for about 25 minutes.

Michael Gonzales, director of the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies, said the speaker was recommended by grad students in the history department.

“[The speaker] was of interest to all students at NIU,” Gonzales said. “He explained how history of Latinos relates to whites and blacks and Asians.”

Gonzales also responded to Hispanics marking “white” on surveys.

“It’s a question of self-perception and a question of how people perceive you,” he said. “White means different things to different people.”

The History Graduate Student Colloquium Committee, Center for Latino and Latin American Studies, the University Graduate School’s Graduate Colloquium Committee and the NIU Department of History sponsored the lecture.