When challenger Bob Armstrong unseated three-term incumbent District Judge Nathaniel Walker, many hailed it as a sign that things are changing in Selma.

Mayor candidate State Rep. Yusef Salaam said shortly after the win that like Armstrong, he planned to ride a wave of support, both black and white, to a win this August.

Salaam said Armstrong’s win and the support he received wasn’t the result of a single campaign.

Rather, he credits the work Armstrong and others did building relationships over the years.

“I think the Bob Armstrong race did not occur out of a political vacuum,” he said. “Prior political races laid the foundation for the results.

We see him reaping the benefits of years of struggle.”

The willingness of voters to cross racial boundaries, Salaam said, represents a giant leap forward.

“This development is the most significant occurrence is Selma since the Civil Rights Movement of 1965,” he said. “The key to Selma and Dallas County’s future is now you have large numbers of whites willing to take an open stand on issues that only the most courageous progressive would take in private in the sixties.”

But for Selma to continue to make progress, even more Selmians will have to join the change.

“We’re dealing with politics and power,” Salaam said. “The racial issues in Selma cannot be resolved base upon secular political logic.

At the end of the day, the bringing together of Selma, on a unified basis, must inherently be a spiritual process.”

Salaam said Armstrong’s victory is an example that the changes in racial politics must be spiritual ones.

“The gentleman who had the recent key victory, is a man reputed in both the African-American and the white community to be a man of deep-seeded Christian faith,” Salaam said. “Most political figures in crunch time are going to compromise (their principles.) Their main interest is to maintain themselves in office or to win office.

“Consequently, the average politico is going to crunch the numbers and if it’s beneficial to play the race card, the knee jerk reaction is going to be to play the race card.”

Salaam, however, says he has refused to play the race game.

“In an area where you have 70 percent African-American population and those numbers are combined with a history of oppression, there’s a natural tendency for people to want to play what I call ‘get back’ reverse black politics,” Salaam said. “I made a decision early in my political career to reject that approach.”

Salaam added that the decision has cost him personally.

“My detractors were at once upon a time personal friends but we disagreed vehemently on this particular question,” he said. “If Salaam had played the race card, he could probably be in any political office in this area.

The powerful political African-American players in this area would have been my main supporters.”

Salaam recalled that when he was on the city council, the members voted along racial lines, until the black members of the council supported a field trip for Morgan Academy.

That vote broke the ice so to speak and the council learned to work together.

So much so, detractors began calling them the “The Dream Team.”

“We wanted to send a message, we weren’t going to hold the private/public school controversy against young people,” Salaam said.

Salaam added that for change to continue politicians are going to have to stand up for what they believe in the face of political threats and losing votes.

“It’s been a difficult and excruciating ordeal,” Salaam said. “It’s only my spiritual commitment and dedication that has given me the strength to continue to advocate that Selma come together as one. We’re getting closer.”