Terrance D. Carroll (born January 16, 1969) is an American lawyer, minister, former

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

legislator and former Speaker of the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...

, the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

ever to hold that office in Colorado. Carroll was elected as a Democrat in 2002 and represented House District 7 which encompasses parts of

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

Biography

Carroll was born and grew up in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the only child of a single mother who was a share-cropper's daughter. He attended

Fork Union Military Academy Fork Union Military Academy (abbreviated as FUMA) is a private, all-male, college preparatory military boarding school located in Fork Union, Virginia. Founded in 1898, Fork Union is considered one of the premier military boarding academies in ...

and H. D. Woodson High School and then graduated from

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliation ...

in 1992 with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

After graduating from Morehouse, Carroll moved to Colorado to pursue a

PhD. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in political science. He took a job as a campus police officer but switched his educational interest from political science to religion. He graduated from the

Iliff School of Theology Iliff School of Theology is a graduate Methodist theological school in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1892, the school's campus is adjacent to the University of Denver. Fewer than 200 students attend the school. Iliff is one of thirteen United ...

in 1999 with a Master of Divinity degree and the

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, go ...

, Center for the Study of Values in Public Life, Summer Leadership Institute in June 2000 and later became an ordained Baptist minister. Carroll continued his education, entering in and graduating from the

Sturm College of Law The Sturm College of Law ("Denver Law") is the professional graduate law school of the University of Denver. It is one of two law schools in the state of Colorado. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law was one of the first in America's Mountai ...

at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

in 2005 with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

. While in law school he was appointed to an open seat in the Colorado House of Representatives in 2003.
Carroll currently practices in the area of litigation with the firm o
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
in downtown Denver.

Legislative career

Carroll represented district 7 in northeast Denver, and has served as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and Assistant Majority Leader. He decided to run for speaker in November, 2008, after the front runner for the job, Representative Bernie Buescher, was upset in his re-election bid. On Thursday, November 8, 2008, just two days after that election, democrats in the Colorado House of Representatives chose Carroll as Speaker. He was sworn in as the 34th Speaker of the House at the opening of the

Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the '' Colorado Revised Statutes'' (C.R.S.). The ses ...

in January, 2009. The Colorado constitution limits members of the Colorado House to four consecutive two year terms, Carroll's term ended in 2011.

Legislation

Carroll was known for his support of education reform. In 2008 Carroll along with former Colorado Senate President

Peter Groff Peter C. Groff (born April 21, 1963) is a former member of the Obama administration and a former Colorado legislator and President of the Colorado Senate. An attorney, public servant, and political veteran, Groff was elected as a Democrat to the ...

sponsored SB130, a bill that would allow Colorado schools the power to control their budgets and make their own decisions on hiring, curriculum, length of the school day and teacher compensation. He has sponsored bills to charter new schools and to standardize the calculation of high school graduation rates. Carroll has also worked on homeland security measures and civil and criminal justice issues. He was also the original sponsor of the bill that established the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army ...

Memorial Highway on Colorado's Interstate 70 to honor the African American flyers that served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

References

External links

Legislative web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Terrance 1969 births Living people African-American state legislators in Colorado Baptist ministers from the United States Colorado lawyers Harvard Divinity School alumni Morehouse College alumni Politicians from Washington, D.C. Speakers of the Colorado House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Politicians from Denver Sturm College of Law alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people