By Amy Lopez | The Raincross Gazette
Photo by Isabelle Lopez
January 16, 2026
“Out in the I.E.” traces decades of activism, community care and cultural impact across the Inland Empire.
The Civil Rights Institute opened “Out in the I.E.” Thursday evening, a six-month exhibition documenting the LGBTQ+ community’s impact across Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The opening celebration filled the Bank of America Diversity Center wall to wall, with overflow crowds on the patio where speakers broadcast the program. State Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, Redlands Councilmember Denise Davis, former Riverside Councilmember Erin Edwards and former Palm Springs Councilmember Lisa Middleton attended.
Davis, Redlands’ first openly LGBTQ+ councilmember elected in 2018, told attendees about co-founding Safe Space Allies at the University of Redlands in 2003.
