Preserving Local Queer History with “ATTN: Emma Jones" at Stamped Film Festival
By Dakota Parks for Inweekly
“I don’t think most people, especially younger people who are just coming out, can even imagine what it’s like to be arrested just for being at a bar with other gay people,” said documentary interviewee David Richbourg, recalling a police raid on a Pensacola Beach gay bar in the 1970s. “What we were doing was illegal, but we were doing it because that’s who we were.”
These raids on queer-friendly bars like the Yum Yum Tree and the Red Garter took place during the same beach gatherings that helped establish Pensacola as a tourist destination for LGBTQ+ people. Opportunities to connect were especially precious at a time when simply coming together could put the community at risk.
Those early gatherings laid the foundation for Pensacola’s LGBTQ+ beach celebrations, a Memorial Day weekend tradition that continues today.
More than 50 years later, that history is the subject of “ATTN: Emma Jones,” a new documentary short premiering at this year’s Stamped Film Festival. Through interviews and local archival materials, the film showcases the Emma Jones Society and the people who helped sustain queer community along the Gulf Coast.
Who is Emma Jones?
It all started with a P.O. box and a woman who didn’t exist.
In 1957, a Pensacola couple, Ray and Henry Hillyer, opened a post office box under the fictitious name Emma Jones. At a time when the Comstock Act of 1873 was still in full effect and receiving queer literature in the mail could attract unwanted attention from authorities, the box offered gay men a discreet way to receive magazines and books without having them delivered to their homes.
The Hillyers allowed other LGBTQ+ people to use the P.O. box, creating a social network that became known as the Emma Jones Society. Under this alias, the group began hosting gatherings and exchanging mail.
For historian Jay Watkins, the story first surfaced while researching for his book, “Queering the Redneck Riviera: Sexuality and the Rise of Florida Tourism.” He came across a reference to the Emma Jones Society in “Gay and Lesbian Atlanta,” a collection by Wesley Chenault and Stacy Braukman. The brief mention included Billy Jones, an Atlanta drag queen who attended Emma Jones events, and an image of an invitation featuring George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in a tender embrace.
That invitation was enough to send Watkins looking for more.
“The parties weren’t advertised in the gay press, at least as far as I can tell,” Watkins said. “News spread by word of mouth. The first year they hand-made 50 invitations and 100 people showed up. The second year they made a hundred and several hundred people showed up, and so on.”
The name Emma Jones offered a layer of discretion, but the society itself was hardly insignificant. Its gatherings brought thousands of people from across the Southeast to Pensacola, including visitors from Atlanta, New Orleans, Montgomery, Birmingham and Tallahassee, driving tourism to the Gulf Coast.
For Watkins, documenting the society filled a gap in the historical record. It was also a way to connect with a past he had never known growing up in the region.
“I don’t know that I necessarily set out with a hope to uncover anything, since a good historian is always led by the evidence,” he said. “I grew up in Panama City, and for most of my life I couldn’t wait to leave. I struggled with being gay in the 90s and didn’t have any good role models. I was writing this book for all the people like me that grew up knowing nothing about the queer past there in North Florida.”
Finding Community in an Unsafe Time
Richbourg remembers finding that community as a young man, long before he understood just how large it would become.
At 17, in 1967, he used a fake ID to sneak into the Fiesta Bar at the San Carlos Hotel, where many of the Emma Jones parties took place. He also saw his first drag show at the hotel’s Top of the Town ballroom. Through people he met there, he eventually got to know the Hillyers.
“I met Ray and Henry Hillyer at a private party at the beach and got invited to their house for a party soon after,” Richbourg said. “Ray and Henry tried to pass themselves off in this community as being brothers. They were not brothers. They were lovers. And of course, they had that post office box, which became the Emma Jones Society.”
The gatherings became the first gay parties Richbourg ever attended, and they offered a rare opportunity to spend time among other gay people without having to explain or conceal themselves. Over time, the events expanded.
“There were many get-togethers at Ray and Henry’s home throughout the year, but the Fourth of July on Pensacola Beach was the main time that everybody got together, and it just got bigger and bigger and bigger,” Richbourg said. “Suddenly, it was very visible. There were drag queens all dressed up with wigs and feather boas going back and forth across the Bay Bridge in their convertibles. Some people loved it, and other people were aghast.”
For Richbourg, those introductions grew into lasting friendships and invitations to other cities, connecting him to a regional network that made Pensacola a gathering place for people who might otherwise have remained isolated. He came out to his family at 19 and continued living openly as a gay man in Pensacola, even when doing so came with risks. He met his late partner, Norman, in 1973, when Richbourg was 23, and the two remained together for nearly 50 years.
Watkins sees that kind of connection as part of what made the Emma Jones gatherings significant. While the Stonewall Riots of 1969 are often remembered as the defining moment in the gay liberation movement, Watkins points out that communities across the country were finding ways to come together and become more visible well before and alongside it.
“It is easy to denigrate a beach party as frivolous or somehow not as important as a march or violently resisting police harassment,” Watkins said. “But the Emma Jones parties brought people together as gay people. Even if some of them went back to their small-town closets, they got to experience being gay with thousands of other people. That’s huge.”
The network built through those gatherings extended beyond the parties themselves. During the AIDS crisis, Richbourg and others drew on those community connections to support people living with HIV and AIDS, helping establish Appetite for Life, a meal-delivery program for people who were sick and needed assistance.
“It was very interesting to see the network that Ray and Henry created,” Richbourg said. “Because of the Emma Jones Society, we were able to meet people from different cities and share information. In fact, that’s how I got to know Gary Little and Garry Bergeron, who started the Red Ribbon Charitable Fund to give back to the gay community.”
The Red Ribbon Charitable Fund went on to support Appetite for Life and other HIV/AIDS care and prevention efforts in the region. Today, the fund continues to support the local LGBTQ+ community through its sponsorship of Stamped Film Festival, among other projects.
Through Appetite for Life, Richbourg and volunteers prepared meals, packed them into ice chests and delivered them to people throughout the Gulf Coast, offering invaluable support during a time when people living with HIV and AIDS often faced isolation alongside their illness.
“It was a wonderful time for the gay community to come together and yet another project to be visible and to be doing good,” Richbourg said.
That commitment to showing up for one another continued through Richbourg’s extensive nonprofit work, including as a founding board member of Sunday’s Child, a local LGBTQ+-focused grantmaking organization.
For Richbourg, Pensacola’s LGBTQ+ community and history has never been only about nightlife or beach parties.
“I think it’s very important for us to show the gay community and the straight community that we are responsible citizens, that we do give back and we’re not just here to have a cocktail and go to a tea dance,” Richbourg said. “And I’m not criticizing a tea dance or a beach party, but it’s not all that we’re about.”
Yet that same growing visibility of Pensacola’s LGBTQ+ community also brought increased scrutiny and backlash.
The Effects of Visibility
Florida has long marketed itself as a place of leisure and pleasure. But as Watkins explores in “Queering the Redneck Riviera,” the state’s tourism economy has also been shaped by tensions over what kinds of pleasure are acceptable and who gets to participate.
Watkins argues that the tourism industry has often walked a fine line—offering indulgence without pushing too far beyond prevailing social expectations.
“Part of the book’s argument is that Florida is always trying to strike a balance: allowing enough sin, pleasure or fun that tourists keep coming back, but not so much that you drive away ‘the good tourists,’” he explained. “We see this process over and over again but specifically with Emma Jones parties. They had been going for several years, but there was a moment when she became too visible.”
Watkins points to the opening of a Pensacola bar by an Atlanta bar owner and the decision to advertise a “Mr. Gay USA” contest on local radio as an important turning point. What had largely circulated through private networks was becoming more public, drawing attention to the scale of the LGBTQ+ community gathering each year in Pensacola.
“Suddenly the parties were a problem and had to be shut down,” Watkins said. “I’d noticed the same sort of process with queer people, prostitution, gambling and moonshine in Panama City, but it was the Emma Jones parties that really crystallized the relationship between tourism, capitalism, moral entrepreneurship and queer visibility.”
In July 1974, police raids targeted LGBTQ+-friendly establishments in the area, including the Yum Yum Tree on Pensacola Beach and the Red Garter. Richbourg recalls the atmosphere surrounding the crackdown and the people who found themselves caught up in it.
“The Fourth of July raid was ludicrous,” Richbourg said. “Our own mayor, Barney Burks, ordered the police to go out there and arrest people for lewd and lascivious behavior. There was nothing lascivious going on in that bar that I saw.”
Richbourg remembers the raids as an attempt to criminalize people for being together.
“I don’t think any of it held up in court, but that didn’t keep our police department from sending a list of names to the local and out-of-town newspapers and TV stations. Those people didn’t do anything wrong. We were all there just to have fun, and a lot of people lost their jobs over that,” he said.
For those involved, the consequences were devastating. A night out with friends could become public record, and a person’s identity could be exposed to family members, employers and neighbors without their consent. Over 30 people were arrested that weekend.
“Homosexuality was still criminalized,” Richbourg said. “What we were doing was not only frowned upon by society, by most of society, certainly most of religion, but it was also illegal. But we didn’t choose it. That’s who we were, and we needed socialization with like-minded people.”
Richbourg said he and his partner, Norman, were in a position that allowed them to live more openly than others. They had built a life together and were not dependent on outside employers, but he understood that not everyone had the same security.
Despite the raids and the risks of being visible, Pensacola’s queer community continued to grow. As more gay bars opened and more people felt comfortable living openly, the gatherings eventually shifted from the Fourth of July to Memorial Day weekend, developing into the celebrations that continue today.
Preserving Stories
That broader history is what “ATTN: Emma Jones” hopes to preserve.
For Stamped Film Festival president and documentary co-director Laynie Gibson, preserving the story is especially important as those who experienced the Emma Jones Society firsthand grow older.
“Well, one reason is that it’s aging,” Gibson said of the original Society population. “That’s always a concern for anyone interested in archiving and preserving our history, but especially when it comes to the history of marginalized communities. We know that the histories that receive the most documentation are often those belonging to people with power and privilege. So, if you’re part of a counterculture or marginalized community, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our own histories and to document them.”
The documentary short, which was funded through a 2025 Sunday’s Child grant awarded to Stamped Film Festival, brings together firsthand accounts, interviews and archival materials to trace the story of the Emma Jones Society from its beginnings to the present-day celebrations.
The film includes interviews with Watkins and Richbourg as well as accounts such as Deborah Andrews’, a drag performer at the Red Garter who also experienced the 1974 police raids. Their accounts provide a window into a period that might otherwise be understood only through newspaper archives and scattered historical references.
“Those stories in particular just feel so special to have captured,” Gibson said.
With a runtime under 15 minutes, the documentary is designed to qualify for short-film categories at festivals around the country, giving Pensacola’s LGBTQ+ history an opportunity to reach audiences beyond the region. The project also generated more interviews and archival material than could fit into the final cut, and Gibson hopes those materials will continue to be shared and preserved.
“In terms of the surplus footage, you know, this is not stuff that we want to just live in a filing cabinet somewhere forever, because it is so special,” Gibson said.
Alongside the premiere of “ATTN: Emma Jones” at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, Stamped Film Festival will host a coffee and conversation panel that morning focused on telling and preserving stories. The panel will include Watkins, Rachel Karp (whose work includes the podcast “Cruising” and the book “The Lesbian Bar Chronicles”) and members of the 309 Punk Project. Together, they’ll discuss different approaches to documenting community history, from academic research to independent and grassroots storytelling.
More than anything, Gibson hopes the film will show younger LGBTQ+ people along the Gulf Coast that they are part of a history stretching back generations.
“This story is about resilience,” Gibson said. “It’s about gathering anyway and telling our stories anyway in the face of oppression and in the face of times that feel pretty grim. So, it feels very relevant to share that story today with younger people in our Gulf Coast region, because we’re not new here. This is a long, ongoing struggle for visibility and to exercise the right to take up space and to gather and to be together.”
Stamped Film Festival
WHAT: An annual LGBTQ+ film festival featuring independent films, panel discussions and community events, including the world premiere of “ATTN: Emma Jones”
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 13-Sunday, Nov. 15
WHERE: The Clark Family Cultural Center, 400 S. Jefferson St.
COST: Free; advance registration is encouraged
DETAILS: stampedfilmfestival.com
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Stamped Film Festival 2026 Schedule
—Friday, Nov. 13—5:30-6 p.m. Short Film Block 1
Theme: Rules Are Meant To Be Broken
"Full Fat” (9 minutes)
“Wrinkled Collar” (16 minutes)
“Tying the Knot” (6 minutes)
6:15-7:05 p.m. Short Film Block 2
Theme: Undeniably Dateable
“Affirmation” (10 minutes)
“Truths” (6 minutes)
“My Big Fat Gay Wedding” (11 minutes)
“Julie Takes A Walk” (15 minutes, plus a 10 minute Q&A)
7:20-8:30 p.m. Short Film Block 3
Theme: Stamped After Dark“
For Jamie” (11 minutes)
“True Love” (17 minutes, plus a 10 minute Q&A)
“Talk Shit” (13 minutes)
“Classified Affairs” (6 minutes)
9 p.m. After Party
At Dorothy’s, 309 S. Reus St., @dorothyspensacolaFree admission with Stamped wristband
—Saturday, Nov. 14—
11 a.m.-12 p.m. Telling Our Stories Panel Discussion
12:15-1:40 p.m. Feature Documentary 1
“A Deeper Love” (86 minutes)
1:55-2:30 p.m. Short Film Block 1
Theme: Buckle Up
“Confession” (7 minutes)
“Something Still” (19 minutes, plus a 10 minute Q&A)
2:40-3:10 p.m. Short Film Block 2
Theme: Come As You Are
“Top” (15 minutes)
“Still Love You” (15 minutes)
3:25-4:15 p.m. Short Film Block 3
Theme: Will You Be There For Me?
“The Last Take” (14 minutes)
“We Are Not Unicorns” (15 minutes)
“Italiano” (20 minutes)
5:30-6:30 p.m. “ATTN: Emma Jones” Premiere
“ATTN: Emma Jones” (15 minutes, plus a 45 minute talkback)
6:45-7:30 p.m. Short Film Block 4
Theme: Think Again…“Betty St. Clair” (12 minutes)“Game Over” (14 minutes)“The Orchestra” (18 minutes)
7:45 p.m. Blessing from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
8-9:25 p.m. Feature Documentary 2
“Hunky Jesus” (84 minutes)
—Sunday, Nov. 15—Family Day
Featuring Whim Cotton Candy, face painting and a ukulele sing-along with Mr. Mac
1:30-2:20 p.m. Teens Short Film Block 1
“Falling Behind” (14 minutes)
“Final Frame” (14 minutes)
“Batter Up, Queen” (14 minutes)
“Las Cosas Que Brillan” (11 minutes)
2-2:30 p.m. Children’s Short Film Block
“I wanna hold your hand” (2 minutes)
“Stori Strong Episode 4” (14 minutes)
“Wheels & Roses” (8 minutes)
2:35-3:20 p.m. Teens Short Film Block 2
“Shape Notes” (12 minutes)
“This is Texas” (23 minutes)
“Feel Love Stand Here” (12 minutes)
3:35-4:30 p.m. Teens Short Film Block 3
“The Fruit Machine: A Space Opera” (7 minutes)
“Student” (25 minutes)
“Showtime” (15 minutes)
“Pronouns” (11 minutes)
