A black stage actor playing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a local production says he’s been publicly subjected to racial slurs twice since arriving in London, one on the eve of Black History Month.

E.B. (Edward Benjamin) Smith, starring in the Grand Theatre’s The Mountaintop, said a passing motorist called him the N-word as he and co-star Beryl Bain, also black, walked along Richmond Street near the theatre.

It happened again Sunday, he says, again when he was with Bain, when a man in a Detroit Tigers hat at a downtown pub and eatery hurled the same slur at him — calling him, as he described it, “a piece of s--- and a (N-word) to my face, before walking away to join his friends who were playing pool in the corner.”

The Cleveland native was so taken aback, he turned to Facebook to detail the “aggressive language” he said he didn’t expect in London, adding the experience has taught him the message spread by King, an iconic 1960s-era black American civil rights leader, is still “critical” today.

“I’ve experienced looks and offhand remarks, but this is the first time I’ve experienced something this direct in Canada,” said Smith, a veteran actor of African-American and Jewish heritage.

It’s not the first time London has found itself thrust under a harsh spotlight in recent years over racism and use of offensive slurs, but this time — in a social media era — the fallout spread almost instantly.

Mayor Matt Brown, who was in Ottawa, said he heard about it late Tuesday and called the actor Wednesday.

“I spoke with Mr. Smith and expressed my absolute disappointment and I apologized on behalf of myself and on behalf of our community,” Brown wrote in an email to The Free Press.

In 2013, a political dust-up broke out after the head of a multicultural group charged that a black London city councillor was “not black enough.”

Separately, a city councillor used the N-word in a public debate.

Three years earlier, a fan tossed a banana peel on the ice in London in front of a black NHL player during an exhibition game, a racist gesture that rained unflattering coverage down on the city.

More recently, a self-described “mixed race” contributor for the youth-focused Vice website trashed her treatment in London in a column headlined “London, Ontario, was a racist a--hole to me.”

Brown wrote that he applauds Smith for speaking out.

“He is living the words of Dr. King, who said, ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.’ He is starting an important conversation that racism exists, and it needs to be tackled head-on. We need to stand together and we need to speak out against this kind of hatred. It is simply unacceptable.”

Smith, whose parents run a head-hunting firm in Cleveland that specializes in recruiting minorities and women, said racism is a part of life in the United States, but it’s not what he expects in Canada.

“It’s out there, it’s always present in the U.S.,” he said.

“But, in Canada, I don’t find myself looking for it.”

When it was suggested to Smith he “suffered” a racial taunt, he was quick to respond.

“I don’t consider it suffering,” he said. “It’s a comment made by an ignorant person who may or may not understand the word he used. But, it was a wilful statement.”

The first instance a week ago “caught us off-guard,” said Smith.

“The first question that came to mind was ‘Why?’ Why did he feel the need to remind me of the colour of my skin?”

Sunday, Smith and Bain were at the Poacher’s Arms when he said the man in the ballcap asked where he was from. “I said Cleveland and he said, ‘Then you’re a piece of s--t,’ ” said Smith. “I thought it was because he thought I was an Indians fan. Then he came back and he asked me ‘Where’s Shorty?’ and I asked who Shorty was and he said, ‘A short little (N-word) like you.’ Then he said ‘I talk too much,’ and went back to play pool with his friends.”

Bain was unavailable for an interview.

When Smith and Bain raised the issue with bar staff, they “were appalled,” but the man had already left.

Co-owner Jimmy Lee, a native of South Korea, wasn’t working Sunday, but said he was also dismayed.

“It’s very wrong,” said Lee, who said he’s had racial epithets directed at him “maybe five times” in 13 years living in London, usually by drunken patrons.

“I always think, ‘It’s not me, it’s their problem. They are the loser because they don’t get to know me. They’re the one who has the problem.’ ”

This is the third straight February the Grand has featured plays about black heritage for Black History Month, including Oil and Water in 2014 and Intimate Apparel last year, which featured black actors.

Susan Ferley, artistic director at the Grand, said she’s unaware of any other incidents involving cast members in shows.

“It’s disappointing,” she said. “You take great pride in your community. This is our home and these artists are our guests. Then you realize why it’s so important to do this show.”

The Mountaintop is a fictional account of King’s last night alive in a room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., where he was assassinated by James Earl Ray on April 4, 1968.

Smith admitted he was “a little angry, for sure. But you have to go through that anger to forgiveness and think of the bigger picture because, at the end of the day, we all have to live together. What is starting a bar fight over a word going to get me?”

Smith encouraged Londoners to share the link to his Facebook page (Edward B Smith) where he wrote about the London incidents.

“Ultimately, my experience in London has been very positive,” he said. “However, if these people feel empowered in this city to behave that way, it means we can all do better.”

joe.belanger@sunmedia.ca

In his own words: Excerpts from Smith’s posting on his Facebook page

Two weeks ago, I began rehearsals to play Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in The Mountaintop at the Grand Theatre. It is a play with a beating black heart that passionately examines, questions, and challenges the ideas of civil disobedience, activism, nonviolence, and indeed what it means to inhabit a black body in this world. Well, twice, in those last two weeks, I have been called a (N-word) by white people in London, Ontario, Canada . . . I didn’t expect that I would encounter such aggressive language in London. I believed that doing this play would be a great opportunity to open minds, and have a dialog (sic). But the last two weeks have taught me that the import is so much more profound. Racism is. Bigotry is. As a society we must do better to spread love, weaponize love, and love ourselves. We must fight to overcome the darkness and demons within and without. We, the awakened, the lovers, must scream at the top of our lungs that the world cannot help but hear us.

Ordinarily I would post a link to the show page imploring all of you, my friends, to come enjoy this work I am a part of . . . I would tell you that it’s a good story, and well executed with heart and passion and pride.

Well, all of these things are true of this piece. It will be extraordinary, I believe. But what is also true is that in this place, at this time, this particular piece of art is critical. Around the world, the struggle continues to achieve King’s dream. We are not there yet, but we can do it. The promised land is so close, and yet so far away . . . Hunger, Racism, Poverty, War, Destruction, and Hatred must be stopped. Only love can save us, friends. Peace.

Peace.

REACTION TO THIS INCIDENT AND TO RACISM IN LONDON

Chad Callander, member and past chairperson of the Diversity and Race Relations Advisory Committee: “It makes my blood boil” that anyone, and particularly a guest to the city, is treated this way. “This gentleman was very brave in sharing this story. I commend him for coming forward.”

Callander described it as a “terrible, terrible irony” that this would happen to a man who, playing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is spreading the word of racial reconciliation.

But it’s up to everyone in London to spread that word, too.

“The onus is on people who are bystanders to step up.”

The city is working on a new diversity and inclusion plan, but attitudes change only slowly.

Dwayne Morgan, Toronto-based spoken word poet who performed at a Black History Month event at Western University: “Last time I was here, I was questioned by London police for taking a water bottle out of my car. Which is strange, because I opened the car with my set of keys, and was taking the water out when they came up and questioned me.”

When he posted the story about his experience with London police on his social media, many people shared their similar stories.

“London has a problem and I know a lot of people who have personal experience with that.”

What can we do to change? “There has to be a curiosity about other people. Get to know people, get invested in other people.”

“We (black people) are inundated by the dominant culture. How many people take the time to get to know and invest in our culture?”

Rowa Mohamed, a member of the Black Students Association and one of the organizers of events during Black History Month at Western:

She is not at all surprised at the racism experienced by the actor.

“I experience it all the time, in the Western bubble and outside of the Western bubble.” In her case that has included inappropriate comments and people pulling her hair because it’s different.

Mohamed often gets told, “ ‘Wow, you’re so articulate,’ as if it’s shocking that a person in fourth-year university would be able to string a coherent sentence together.”

“There’s a lot less diversity in London, and people are more willing to sweep things under the rug and pretend it doesn’t exist.”

Western recently had a “White Student Union” group set up on campus. When she complained about the group on its Facebook page, they sent her such messages as “Go back to your country” and “Why are you here?”

When she reported the messages to campus police, she was accused of reverse racism. “It’s a shock that people in power are so ill-equipped to deal with racist incidents.”

Compiled by Free Press reporters Kate Dubinski and Debora Van Brenk