On February 27 an historic event took place. The Martin Luther King County Council voted to change the imperial crown logo of the county to that of the image of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
While this story is of significant importance to many communities here in the Pacific Northwest for its symbolic as well as practical implications, the majority of news coverage was scarce at best. Keeping this in mind, it would be good for all of us to consider why this is so significant.
In 1852 King County was named after William Rufus Devane King, who was the Vice President of the United States during the Franklin Pierce presidency. He died two months after the election. Isaac Stevens, the Territorial Governor of Washington at the time, named our adjoining counties Pierce and King in order to gain favor with the White House.
Considering that Vice President King owned 170 slaves, it is hard to think of such a person being representative of what our county stands for.
With the council's victory to change the logo to the image of Dr. King, it ushers in a new era of social consciousness and a symbolic acceptance of the principles for which Dr. King stood and died for. But what makes the logo change so very significant is that it is a move from rhetoric to action. I can only hope that this is a trend that will continue and that more things happen in a similar fashion.
People must not fall into the rhetorical trap of lofty quotes and sayings that leave us with nothing more than clichés. Rather, what is needed is to put the words of Dr. King and other social justice leader's into perspective, and, more importantly, into action.
Now that the MLK County Council has adopted this new image, and with it a profound legacy of social justice, it's time for its leaders to live by the principles that Dr. King set forth and join in the struggle to build the "beloved community" that he so eloquently described.
Dr. King once said, "There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society, with a large segment of people in that society, who feel that they have no stake in it; who feel that they have nothing to lose. People who have a stake in their society protect that society, but when they don't have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it."
On February 27, the people of this community witnessed a conscious stake in their society. People came together not for political agendas or budget arguments. People came together in the name of love, peace and justice.
Sadly these days are rare, but it is my hope that with every crown that is replaced by an image of Dr. King that each and every citizen in this county be reminded that they are a part of "the beloved community."
We aren't talking about pie-in-the-sky or happy-go-lucky feelings here. These principles and feelings of hope are real and practical. Much like the days of the civil rights movement when the United States was engulfed in war with Vietnam and people of color were enduring the bombs of poverty dropped by the administrations of the time, today our communities face similar circumstances. A troubling reality is that our country seems to be heading down the same path of repetition.
With a war in Iraq that doesn't seem to have an end in sight and attacks of terrorism being waged by politicians against poor people of color right here in the good old U.S. of A., it is difficult to believe that times have really changed and that people have matured past the days of blatant racism and bigotry.
In the spirit of social activism, political consciousness, and hope for a better tomorrow, it is my intention to begin to uncover some of the growing dangers within communities of color and to address these issues candidly and openly.
Let this logo change be more than symbolic for you and everyone else. Let it be more than just a dream a young minister spoke of in Washington D.C. so many years ago. Let it be the reality that our children, our elders, and everyone in between deserve and so desperately seek.
Enrique Gonzalez is a youth case manager at El Centro de la Raza and resides in the Skyway neighborhood in South Seattle.
He may be contacted through the address or e-dress below.[[In-content Ad]]
