Compassion Wears a Crown

Accomplished teen Madison Corzine navigates pageants, schoolwork, podcasting and community outreach and education with grace and confidence.

By Jill B old

“I’ve always been taught to give 110% because I deserve that, but so do the people around me.”

Channeling this sage advice from her parents, Madison Corzine embodies what can be accomplished with this mindset. At 16, the reigning Miss Juneteenth DFW has led her Fort Worth community in the fight against period poverty through her organization Pragmatic Prodigies and co-hosts the podcast Black Girls: The New Gen.

Madison packs a lot into her busy life, building herself a future filled with purpose with the full support and guidance of her parents.

“They’ve established this drive in me to always be the best,” Madison says.

All areas of her life — the pageants, her own education and community service efforts — are centered around and powered through her work with period poverty advocacy.

Curiosity and compassion

What started off as a fifth-grade research project focused on women in Kenya turned into a moment for Madison when her eyes were opened to the reality that many people experience period poverty. This is the struggle that low-income women and girls endure when trying to afford menstrual products, and it’s a problem that persists worldwide. This inability to obtain these products means more girls are staying home from school and missing out on their education. This can add up to five weeks of someone’s semester and can result in failing the class.

“These girls are struggling with these issues, and no one’s talking about it or willing to speak up,” she explains. “It’s incredibly unfair because they’re missing school.” Madison knew she needed to find a way to give these girls a voice and provide a helping hand.

Pragmatic Prodigies steps up

Madison teamed up with her best friend, Kyler Reese, to bring Pragmatic Prodigies to Fort Worth. At first, they focused on young women’s issues, but once they decided that period poverty was something they had the strength and the drive to dig into as a group, they got to work.

Working at Morningside Middle School, they mentored girls on navigating dual credit, building confidence and getting them ready for high school. But they also provided them with period products.

In fact, due to a swell of generous donations, Pragmatic Prodigies was able to provide the entire district with period products, and Morningside became a hub for other girls across the district to get the materials they needed.

Madison knows the complete solution doesn’t end with providing products. She and Kyler, who’s focused on medical law, work together to explore the medical statistics and complex issues surrounding period poverty.

“If you have only a few menstrual products, people are going to try to make that stretch because they don’t have enough,” she says. “But using one for too long is better than nothing, right? That’s a medical risk in itself.”

Begin the conversation

Madison spent many hours on FaceTime with Kyler talking out issues like this, even discussing current news events and sharing how it made them feel. This sort of authentic, thoughtful conversation was the basis for the podcast Black Girls: The New Gen. The open-ended, unedited conversational format of the shows welcomes listeners to a respectful conversation about issues like colorism, stereotypes, mental health and pretty privilege from the perspective of two bright young Black girls.

“It’s really important that we have the voice to do these sort of things,” Madison says.

Top: Madison and her best friend and business partner personally gather and deliver menstrual products to Morningside Middle School in Fort Worth.

Platform for change

Madison found more ways to amplify the voices of girls and women in need of period poverty advocacy. When she signed up for the Miss Juneteenth DFW pageant, she hoped for a chance to bond with girls her age and earn some scholarships for her future college education. She hopes to attend Spelman College for undergraduate studies and aspires to study at Syracuse University for law school.

“I’m trying to get two degrees, if not three,” she says. “That’s a lot of money.”

But in the process, she found that participating in pageants proved to be a powerful tool for shining a light on the period poverty problem.

After winning the title of Miss Juneteenth DFW, Madison was set to compete in the national pageant with 11 other girls from all over the country. She loved performing, and her background and training in theater prepared her for the experience. She developed deep bonds with her fellow contestants, building lasting friendships despite the pressures of performing in a competitive space.

“Having this sense of unity and sisterhood has always been a dream of mine,” she says.

Madison is looking at pageantry to support herself through college. The healthy-sized scholarships offered to winners can provide the financial independence she’ll need. She is also looking forward to establishing period poverty advocacy on her future college campus, bringing education, support and relief to women and girls wherever her new home might be.

SCAN THE QR CODE to hear Madison speak more about period poverty advocacy.

Role Models For A Queen

Madison draws inspiration in her life from a variety of influential Black women — from Beyoncé to actress and producer Marsai Martin to her own mother. She is drawn to how hard working, powerful and successful these women are.

She’ll find inspiration even when she takes time to slow down and enjoy a good read. She’s an avid reader who enjoys a good young adult fantasy novel or a dystopian sci-fi read. “I’m a huge reader,” she gushes. “I love reading.”

Right now, her favorite novel is Children of Blood and Bone by Nigerian-American novelist Tomi Adeyemi. Madison is intrigued by the first Black female novelist she’s seen in the genre.

“I’ve never seen a Black female writer do such amazing things,” she says.