Gone to Church

The incomparable Dr. Wes Browning shot this with the cheapest video camera in the world last month during the unveiling ceremony for the new King County logo. The ceremony at Mount Zion Baptist Church featured musical tributes by DaNell Daymon & Royalty.

On February 24, 1986, the King County Council passed Council Motion 6461, "setting forth the historical basis for the renaming' of King County in honor of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King County was originally named by the Oregon Territorial Legislature in 1852 after Vice President William Rufus Devane King, a slave owner from Alabama who died of tuberculosis the next year.

Because only the state can charter counties, this change was not made official until April 19, 2005, when Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed Senate Bill 5332 into law. The County Council voted on February 27, 2006 to change the county's logo from a royal crown to an image of King's face. On March 12, 2007, the new logo was unveiled.