“I make better choices now,” says Twin (name changed to protect his privacy), a member of Sixth-Grace Presbyterian Church’s Barbershop Raps Mentor Program, reflecting on his participation in the ministry.
Twin, a high school student in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood near the church, joined the program last summer when Sixth-Grace and local community organizations began an outreach ministry for young men ages 12 to 19.
Twin had been tight-lipped with his thoughts or feelings in rap sessions, group conversations between the young men and adult mentors, according to the Rev. Bernard Clark, a Baptist pastor and community organizer who …