Abstract
This research project presents teachers, administrators, parents, and community members with an empowerment training that combats the effects of negative stereotypes on the behavioral development and implicit cognition of girls of color. As the ramifications of negative stereotypes and the progression of behavioral development and implicit cognition disorders amongst girls of color are interrelated but often overlooked by academia, this research project harnesses this interrelationship to cultivate an empowerment training that nurtures skills to diminish behavioral development and implicit cognition deficits by mitigating symptoms at their root. Utilizing qualitative methods of instructional design and content analysis from a critical race feminist and multicultural feminist therapy framework, this literary work adapts competencies within current intervention literature, such as critical consciousness, feminist identity development, and resilience to encourage girls of color to reject negative stereotypes and tailors to the multi-faceted intersections of their social identities and unique experiences and specific contexts in which they develop. Qualitative data was collected from 9 qualified evaluators using an open-ended questionnaire and determined the Future Leaders training to effectively reconstruct knowledge surrounding negative stereotypes and successfully increase senses of empowerment and leadership in girls of color. Although this research project is intended to aid adolescent girls of color, it can help all women combat the effects of negative stereotypes on their behavioral development and implicit cognition and enhance their empowerment and leadership potential so they may be readily prepared to face existing and evolving problems in the 21st century.