Robert Mills Lusher

Robert Mills Lusher (May 17, 1823 - November 23, 1890) was a writer, journalist, educator, and superintendent of education in Louisiana. He was known for segregating schools in Louisiana immediately following the American Civil War. Lusher moved to New Orleans following his first cousin Mary Powell Mills who was involved in an interracial marriage to Creole author and diplomat Alexander Dimitry. Alexander was the first superintendent of education in Louisiana and the first person of color to hold that position. The Dimitry family underwent countless instances of racism. Two major incidents involving the family were documented in court entitled Forstall, f.p.c. v. Dimitry (1833) and Pandelly v. Wiltz (1854). The Creole family was heavily pressured to pass as white which is deemed ethnocide. Lusher was closely involved with the Dimitry family and endorsed by Alexander and Alexander's daughter Virginia Ruth Dimitry was also involved with Lusher as an educator.

Robert was born in Charlestown, South Carolina from a young age he was educated by prominent architect Robert Mills. While in Washington he attended Georgetown College and met Creole author and educator Alexander Dimitry whom motivated the young man to move to New Orleans, Louisiana. While in Louisiana he finished a law degree at Tulane University. He was a court clerk for many years, served as a clerk of the Confederate states district court, and chief tax collector for Louisiana. He became the ninth state superintendent of education in Louisiana supporting segregation of schools right after the Civil War and the onset of Jim Crow laws.

Lusher was a member of the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows. In 1847, he was elected and served two years as state Grand Worthy Patriarch of the Sons of Temperance. Lusher was honored with several medals throughout his life including three medals from Georgetown College around 1840, the Robert E. Lee Memorial medal in 1871, and a George Peabody Medal in 1880. His father's family home known as the George Lusher House is a tourist attraction in Charleston, South Carolina. In 2022, due to the growing pressure of the community, Lusher's name was removed from the Robert M. Lusher School on Willow Street in New Orleans because he was known as a segregationist.