Although President Obama told the NAACP yesterday that racial barriers do still exist in the United States, he also said, "Overall, there’s probably never been less discrimination in America than there is today."

While Obama was praising the civil rights movement for his own opportunity and rise to the White House, CNN was tracing Michelle Obama’s slave roots.

But last night, while speaking to 5,000 NAACP members for their 100th convention, Obama also has a strong message for black parents, saying they must accept their own responsibilities by "putting away the Xbox and putting our kids to bed at a reasonable hour," and crediting his own mother for making him what he is today. Turning to the kids, and "all the other Barack Obamas out there," he said money should have nothing to do with a child’s grades, and that every child is responsible for his or her own future. He also asked young people to have ambitions beyond becoming athletes and rap stars.

"Your destiny is in your hands, and don’t you forget that. That’s what we have to teach all of our children! No excuses! No excuses!"

You can read Obama’s remarks in their entirety here.

Meanwhile, CNN tracked down the rice plantation where First Lady Michelle Obama believes her great-great grandfather was held as a slave. Friendfield Plantation, outside of Georgetown, SC, is a symbol of something other than servitude. It’s a symbol of a stop one American family made in their historic rise from slavery to the White House. Watch the video below: