Remembering Yesteryear: 2005 King County in Washington was re-named after Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Population: 1,931,249 (2010)

Black/African American:  6.2% 

White:  68.7% 

American Indian and Alaska Native:  0.8% 

Asian: 14.6%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.8% 

two or more races: 5.0% 

Hispanic or Latino (any race): 8.9% 

 

 

King County was named after William Rufus King who was Vice-President when the Washington Territory was created.

 

In 1986 a motion was introduced by Ron Sims (a black Democrat from Seattle), and Bruce Laing (a white Republican from suburban Renton) to change the namesake to Martin Luther King, Jr..

 

On February 24, 1986, the King County Council passed Council Motion 6461 5 votes to 4 setting forth the historical basis for the renaming of King County in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. 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.

 

 

 

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Algona
Auburn (partial)
Beaux Arts Village
Bellevue
Black Diamond
Bothell (partial)
Burien
Carnation
Clyde Hill
Covington
Des Moines
Duvall
Enumclaw
Federal Way
Hunts Point
Issaquah
Kenmore
Kent
Kirkland
Lake Forest Park
Maple Valley
Medina
Mercer Island
Milton (partial)
Newcastle
Normandy Park
North Bend
Pacific (partial)
Redmond
Renton
Sammamish
SeaTac
Seattle
Shoreline
Skykomish
Snoqualmie
Tukwila
Woodinville
Yarrow Point