A new exhibition, “Out in the I.E.,” is set to open at the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California in Riverside.

The exhibition, a survey of the Inland Empire’s LGBTQ+ history, opens with an event 6-9 p.m. Thursday at the institute, at 3933 Mission Inn Ave., Suite 102. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and parking will be available in the Fox Theater parking lot.

“Out in the I.E.” builds on the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California’s pop-up exhibition that opened in June 2024 and was envisioned by Jesse Melgar, a board member of the Inland Empire Community Foundation, according to a news release from the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California.

When there was an outpouring of support for the pop-up and many recommendations for how the small exhibit could grow, the idea was born to take the exhibit into the Civil Rights Institute’s full 1,500-square-foot exhibition space, according to the news release.

Research on the exhibition began in January 2025 after the California State Library awarded the Civil Rights Institute a $90,000 Preservation & Accessibility of California’s LGBTQ+ History grant.

As the Civil Rights Institute’s public history director Audrey Maier and lead researcher Jill Surdzial set out to research the region’s LGBTQ+ history, it became clear that the community’s full story had not been documented. Over the course of seven months, more than 40 interviews were conducted for the exhibition with people living in Riverside, San Bernardino, Redlands, Colton, the High Desert and the Coachella Valley, according to the news release.

Interviews were conducted with public figures, such as Riverside drag legend Mayhem Miller; longtime advocates such as the late George E. Sonsel, who helped found the Desert AIDS Project; local political leaders, including California Sen. Sabrina Cervantes; and up-and-coming artists and community activists, according to the news release.

Those interviews became the basis of the exhibition and will be available on the Civil Rights Institute’s digital archive, at archive.inlandcivilrights.org.

“Out in the I.E.” shares more than 50 years of LGBTQ+ history across Riverside and San Bernardino counties by focusing on 10 themes: LGBTQ+ art; the AIDS/HIV epidemic; community care; political representation; student movements; drag and nightlife; safety; faith; pride and representation; and the Inland Empire’s future.

“Telling our region’s LGBTQ+ stories is not about asking for acceptance; it is about affirming their humanity,” Sabrina Gonzalez, executive director of the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California, said in the news release. “When LGBTQ+ people are visible, their lives and stories can no longer be erased or ignored.”

For information about the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California go to inlandcivilrights. org.