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Wonderly.

The Wondry app. It's July 2nd, 1917, in East St. Louis, Illinois.

A black woman in her 30s peers out anxiously from the doorway of her hair salon.

At the far end of the street, a crowd of white men are tearing up the neighborhood.

She hurriedly pulls back her head before closing the door and then bolting it.

Then she draws the curtains across the windows, make sure all the lights are off,

and prays that the mob will just pass

her by. For the past few weeks, tensions have been rising in East St. Louis. White workers have

accused black newcomers of undercutting wages and have spread stories about them fraternizing

with white women. Yesterday, shots were fired in a black neighborhood, and today, an angry white mob has

descended on this portion of the city. The salon owner moves toward the stairs, but a frantic

knock at the door stops her. Help, help, let me in, please. Don't kill me! The salon owner pauses.

For a moment, she's worried that this could be some sort of trick.

Please, I'm trapped. The mom's at both ends of the street. There's nowhere I can go.

The salon owner moves cautiously to the window beside the door and peels back the curtains just an inch.

She locks eyes with a young black man, barely out of his teens. He looks terrified.

The woman quickly unbolts the door,

pulls him inside before locking the door again. Oh, thank you, ma'am. Thank you. It's crazy out there.

...