“We are proud to present ‘Out in the I.E.’ as a testament to the indomitable spirit and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community in the Inland Empire,” said Sabrina Gonzalez, Executive Director of the Inland Southern California Civil Rights Institute. “This pop up exhibition serves as a platform to recognize the struggles, celebrate the victories, and honor the pioneers who have played pivotal roles in advancing civil rights and fostering inclusivity in our region and is just a starting point for a larger exhibition in the future.” The Inland Empire is home to a thriving LGBTQ+ community that has contributed greatly to advancing the movement for equality. The region’s dynamic queer history is a tapestry of tenacity and triumphs led by fierce trailblazers.

“Our hope is that the ‘Out in the I.E.’ will not only educate and inspire, but also spark meaningful conversations and foster greater understanding and empathy within the Inland Empire,” added Jesse Melgar, lead organizer of the exhibit and member of the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California’s LGBTQ+ Ad Hoc Committee.” By amplifying the voices and experiences of the LGBTQ+ trailblazers in our region, we want to show the role that our bi-county region has played – and will continue to play – in the fight for full equality.”

About the Out in the I.E. Pop Up Exhibit
“Out in the I.E.” is a retrospective that preserves this history for future generations and uplifts the often unsung heroes who fought valiantly for inland queer civil rights – particularly when doing so was met with resistance and/or violence. From the establishment of LGBTQ spaces at UC Riverside in the 1970s and regional efforts to combat AIDS in the 80s, to queer nightclubs opening in the 90s, a local judge fighting back against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2008, and the wave of increased LGBTQ political representation in recent history, this exhibit pays homage to the community’s warriors and elders.

The CRIISC LGBTQ+ Ad Hoc Group of Advisors
The CRIISC LGBTQ+ Ad Hoc Group of Advisors include Jesse Melgar, Chani Beeman, Amber Bolden, Brock Cavett, Gregory Cuellar, David Giron, Sabrina Gonzalez, Catherine Gudis, Maggie Hawkins, Gabriel Maldonado, Kira Peques, Benita Ramsay, Miguel Rivera, Angel Rodriguez, Ariel Savage, and Nancy Tubbs.

Organizers of the exhibition thank Scott Wilson and the City of Riverside; Alexandra Perlman and the Staff of the LGBTQ+ Historical Context Statement; Dr. Catherine Gudis, Jillian Surdzial, and the team of researchers at UC Riverside, and everyone whose previous work inspired and made this pop up exhibit possible.

For more information, please visit https://www.inlandcivilrights.org/.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has invited thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals to celebrate Pride Month in a high-profile show of support at a time when the community feels under attack like never before and the White House has little recourse to beat back a flood state-level legislation against them.

Biden was announcing new initiatives to protect LGBTQ+ communities from attacks, help youth with mental health resources and homelessness and counter book bans, White House officials said.

The White House was closely monitoring air quality due to hazardous smoke from Canadian wildfires to determine whether to proceed with plans for a Thursday night picnic featuring food, games, face painting and photos. Queen HD the DJ was handling the music; singer Betty Who was on tap to perform.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay White House press secretary, said Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses are strong supporters of the LGBTQ+ community and think that having a celebration is an important way to “lift up” their accomplishments and contributions.

She said LGBTQ+ people need to know that Biden “has their back” and “will continue to fight for them. And that’s the message that we want to make sure that gets out there.”

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer individuals, earlier this week declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ individuals in the United States and released a guidebook outlining laws it deems discriminatory in each state.

Just a few days into June’s Pride Month, the campaign said it acted in response to an “unprecedented and dangerous” spike in discriminatory laws sweeping statehouses this year, with more than 525 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced and more than 70 signed into law so far — more than double last year’s number.

Kelley Robinson, the campaign’s president, called for a “swift and powerful” response by people in power, including in government, business and education.

“This is a full-out crisis for our communities that demands a concerted response,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I think this is kind of a national call to action and a call to arms to stand up and fight back.”

Biden was announcing that the Department of Homeland Security, working with the Justice and Health and Human Services departments, will partner with LGBTQ+ community organizations to provide safety resources and training to help thwart violent attacks.

Separately, HHS and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide resources to help LGBTQ+ young people with mental health needs, support in foster care and homelessness.

To confront a spike in book bans, Biden was announcing that the Department of Education’s civil rights office will appoint a new coordinator to work with schools to address that threat. The White House said banning books erodes democracy, deprives students of material needed for learning and can contribute to the stigma and isolation that LGBTQ+ youth feel because books about them are often the ones that are prohibited.

Hundreds of bills have been proposed restricting the rights of transgender people, including limiting their access to certain forms of health care, and LGBTQ+ advocates say they’ve seen a record number of such measures in statehouses.

The White House points out that Biden has a record of supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals, including appointing them to prominent positions in the federal government, such as Jean-Pierre.

After the Supreme Court last year overturned a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, Biden signed legislation to protect marriage equality. He continues to urge Congress to send him the Equality Act, which would add civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ individuals to federal law.

Polls show that public support for the rights of people who are gay and lesbian has expanded dramatically over the last two decades, with about 7 in 10 U.S. adults in polling by Gallup saying that marriages between same-sex adults should be legally valid and that gay and lesbian relationships are morally acceptable.

But attitudes toward transgender people are complex: In polls conducted in 2022 by KFF and the Washington Post and by the Pew Research Center, majorities said they support laws prohibiting discrimination against transgender people in areas such as housing, jobs and schools.

At the same time, both polls found that a majority of Americans think that whether someone is a man or a woman is determined by sex assigned at birth, and many also support restrictive policies aimed at people who are transgender, for example preventing transgender women and girls from participating in sports teams matching their gender identity, along with restrictions on access to medical treatment like puberty blockers and hormone treatment for transgender teens and children.

The Log Cabin Republicans, which represents LGBTQ+ conservatives, criticized the Human Rights Campaign’s declaration of a “state of emergency” as a “PR stunt so ignorantly detached” from the community’s progress over the past decade.

Charles Moran, the group’s president, noted the gay marriage legislation Biden signed, increased public support for equal rights for LGBTQ+ Americans and their higher visibility across society and accused the campaign of “destructively redefining” support for these individuals around trans surgeries for minors, biological men competing in women’s sports, and sex and gender identity lessons in kindergarten.

“While these issues can be emotional and complex, they in no way pose an unprecedented ‘state of emergency’ to the LGBT community, which has persevered through far worse,” Moran said.

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Associated Press writers Emily Swanson in Washington and Hannah Schoenbaum in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

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