"By the way," he warns the crowd. "I tell jokes when I'm nervous."

So, over the following half-hour before he addressed a packed State House chambers at the Capitol, his guests were treated to one-liners that were delivered almost as quickly as Carroll's meteoric rise up the political ladder.

The ordained Methodist minister, former police officer and practicing attorney first entered office six years ago when Sen. Peter Groff went to the Senate. Now, Carroll and Senate President Groff (D-Denver) comprise the only African-American duo in United States history to oversee their legislative bodies at the same time. Groff was elected by his colleagues to lead the Senate last year.

"Not only am I becoming Speaker in this time of (economic) challenge, I'm becoming the first African-American to hold this post in Colorado," Carroll said. "It's not just the weight of the state I'm feeling, it's the weight of an entire community nationally.

"Eighty years ago, (Colorado's) governor was a (Ku Klux) Klansman, the Senate President was a Klansman and the Speaker of the House was a Klansman. Look where we are in 2009. The state's come a long way in how we deal with diversity," he said.

The history of the day was not lost on their colleagues.

"I'm proud that Colorado has made race a non-issue and that we choose people based on their abilities," said Sen. Bob Bacon (D-Fort Collins). "We have selected people who have worked hard, shown their leadership abilities and have been elevated based on merit."

Carroll, who grew up in a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. that he said was nicknamed "Dodge City" because of the constant gunfire, credited the efforts of his mother with helping him succeed. He had to wipe away tears while discussing her impact on him and lamented that she died seven years ago this month and could not witness this day in person.

"My mother, the daughter of a sharecropper and the granddaughter of a slave, taught me the importance of opportunity. She taught me that lesson even though her formal education did not extend beyond the third grade," said Carroll, in remarks he delivered to his colleagues and an audience of family and friends. "In my neighborhood, young black men were expected to be nothing more than a number on a police blotter. My mother, a woman of unconditional love and unbounded grace, understood that my only way out of the neighborhood was to capitalize on each and every opportunity.

"I offer that our principal charge should be to continue to expand the circle of opportunity, so that every single Coloradan may have a genuine chance to succeed."

Carroll said that would be accomplished by creating jobs and strengthening education, his two highest priorities as Speaker.