The discriminatory practices against African Americans during the Jim Crow era in St. Louis, Missouri did not deter Dr. Ruth Harris, the first African American female president of Stowe Teachers College (STC) in St. Louis, from accepting the challenge of leading the African American teachers' college from 1940 to 1954. Her appointment to President marked a significant milestone in the history of African American teachers in St. Louis. As a product of STC, she studied alongside the Black Intelligentsia at Chicago University and Teachers College. Further, she leveraged the experiences garnered in those spaces to develop a program at STC that she hoped would one day rival any college or university in the United States. In developing the program at STC, Harris used seven guiding principles. The principles reflected her awareness of the need to counter the flawed policies and economic conditions in St. Louis which hampered African American children from getting the type of education afforded to White children. Harris's seven guiding principles are presented in this article.