Elsie McDaniel clapped her hands and beamed from ear to ear Sunday when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s likeness was unveiled as the logo proposed for King County.

The tiny 93-year-old woman seated in the last row in the church sanctuary was separated from the poster by rows upon rows of spectators, but she didn't have any trouble seeing the famous face staring out of the artist's rendering.

McDaniel, who moved to Seattle from Arkansas in 1945, could have recognized King's face from twice the distance.

		Grant M. Haller / P-I
	King County Council Chairman Larry Gossett and Gov. Chris Gregoire show the county's proposed logo of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. outside Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle on Sunday.

"It's just that to me, it's just like seeing a member of the family," she said on her way out of Seattle's Mount Zion Baptist Church, where county officials revealed the logo for the first time Sunday.

The King County Council will vote on whether to adopt the new logo this morning, and most expect the vote will be favorable.

The county was renamed in honor of King in 2005. It was first named in 1852 for William Rufus de Vane King, vice president under Franklin Pierce.

Proponents of renaming the county pointed out that its original namesake was an Alabama slave owner and a supporter of the Fugitive Slave Act.

	King County's proposed new logo features the likeness of Martin Luther King Jr., for whom the county is now officially named.

"We can send him back into history and replace him with Dr. King," said King Council Chairman Larry Gossett during the unveiling ceremony. He shared the microphone with a long list of politicians and community leaders, including Gov. Chris Gregoire and King County Executive Ron Sims.

The current county logo is a gold crown.

If the council approves the logo, designed by Tony Gable Design Group of Seattle, King County will be the first government in the United States to use the likeness of the civil rights activist as its logo.

	The current King County logo.

The crown would be phased out over five years, according to the proposal.

Office supplies bearing the old logo would be used until they are gone, and vehicles and other equipment would continue to display the crown until they are replaced.

Even so, the transition is expected to cost about $600,000.

But those present Sunday seemed to think the price is worth shouldering if the new logo sends the right message to the rest of the world.

Gregoire thought the logo would say: "We stand here in King County and in Washington state as a place that recognizes equality for all, respect for everyone and (we) have an absolute passion for justice."

McDaniel, who watched the civil rights movement unfold during the last century, agreed that it's about time the African American community received a nod like this.

"We've struggled for so long," she said.

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