One step closer to his dream

In the hit movie "Borat," there's a scene in which the main character supposedly visits an American black ghetto.

The location is announced to the audience by just a quick view of a street sign: "Martin Luther King Jr. Dr." Sadly, that's enough said. The movie makers knew that the name of the civil-rights leader on streets and parks has become cultural shorthand for "the black part of town." As well as a signpost for the very things King struggled against: racial stigma and urban decay.

The comedian Chris Rock joked if you find yourself on any MLK street, there's only one thing to do. Run.

Which is why what's happening today at Seattle's Mount Zion Baptist Church is such a big deal. In a 2 p.m. ceremony, the new logo for King County — a likeness of Dr. King — will be unveiled. On Monday, the Metro King County Council is expected to adopt it as the county symbol, replacing the crown.

Before long, King's face will be everywhere. On buses and police cars. On uniforms, stationery, the county's Web site. On property-tax bills. On flags that fly over county buildings.

The change will cost about $600,000 over five years. To some, this makes it a waste of taxpayer money.

But to Councilman Larry Gossett, the "value is immeasurable." It's the 12th-largest county in the U.S., a place of immense prosperity that is 75 percent white, adopting a black man as its public symbol.

"I believe it will destroy that stigma, that stereotype, that he is confined to black working-class or poor neighborhoods," Gossett said.

Says Eddie Rye Jr., who helped get Seattle's Empire Way renamed for King in the 1980s: "When we honor King, it's not because of his blackness. He's an American hero."

The King national holiday also says that. But there's something about affixing his name to physical objects that still causes some to go ballistic. Most recently, the feds sent a mediator to Muncie, Ind., to try to settle arguments that renaming a vibrant street there would cause it to become blighted.

Jonathan Tilove visited some of the 700 MLK streets for his book "Along Martin Luther King: Travels on Black America's Main Street." He says it's a myth they are all run-down. But it's true that few go to the white parts of town — in part because the drive to honor King has mostly come from blacks.

That may be changing. Tilove said New Bern, N.C., took the rare step recently of renaming its main drag after King. It was pushed by the white mayor, who told Tilove that "Martin Luther King doesn't belong to black people. The fact of the matter is he freed everybody in this country."

Yes, he did. That's what this new symbol represents.

Rye says when he started on this in the '70s, some people said " 'Eddie, why don't you name a food bank after him?'

"A food bank! Now we can say: 'There's Microsoft, one of the most valuable companies in the world. And it's located in Martin Luther King County.' "

Sure, the logo's just a symbol. Some will say it's trivial.

But this one's going places where you don't often see it. It's breaking a barrier. There's a King-like quality to that.

Danny Westneat's column appears Wednesday and Sunday. Reach him at 206-464-2086 or dwestneat@seattletimes.com.