Denver-As the inauguration of the first African-American president was attended by more than 2 million spectators and watched all over the world, Colorado also celebrated its own political first in the early weeks of January 2009 electing Terrance Carroll as the Speaker of the House and Peter Groff as Senate Majority Leader.

As African-Americans begin to take a front seat at the political stage, Studio 12 host Tamara Banks spoke with community members about the significance of Barack Obama.

Youth advocate and first-time voter Tracy Durant believes that the election of Barack Obama is a chance for Americans to "ground ourselves...and find out what are the real issues" and how must we address those issues. She says that she supports the new administration and remembers most, the acceptance speech from Invesco at Mile High.

Vern L. Howard, chairman of the MLK Jr. Holiday Commission, is happy to see our country move beyond the context of race. He too was impressed with President Obama's speech at Invesco Field and said that the moment caused him to tear up from joy.

Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll was happy to see Obama sworn in as the 44 th President of the United States and believes that President Obama's call to action for the American citizen was the most compelling part of the speech, agreeing with the president that we all have a duty in taking this country in the right direction.

Studio 12 is aired weekly on Channel 12, broadcasted Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and is also available online via video on-demand at KBDI.org.