" 'But that's not a reason to get bad grades, that's not a reason to cut class, that's not a reason to give up on your education and drop out of school,' " he said. " 'No one has written your destiny for you. Your destiny is in your hands.' "
To bolster his arguments, Obama pointed to his own story, growing up with a single mother.
"I know what can happen to a child who doesn't have that chance," Obama said. "But I also know what can happen to a child who does. I was raised by a single mom. I don't come from a lot of wealth. I got into my share of trouble as a child. My life could easily have taken a turn for the worse. When I drive through Harlem or I drive through the South Side of Chicago, when I see young men on the corners, I say, 'There but for the grace of God go I.' "
NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous described Obama's speech as "pitch-perfect," praising him for talking about the racial disparities that still exist in areas such as education and in incarceration.
"This evening is an affirmation of all the work that we've done for a century," Jealous said. "It's also an affirmation of all the work that we're doing right now."
Earlier, Obama spoke at a fundraiser for Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey, a fellow Democrat. The president was ferried in the Marine One helicopter Thursday by an all-woman crew, meant to honor the first woman ever to pilot the presidential aircraft on her last day in that assignment.
As critics and even its own leaders debate the relevancy of the NAACP in the age of a black president, Obama suggested that the push for equality should be shared regardless of gender, race and orientation.
"If three civil rights workers in Mississippi - black and white, Christian and Jew, city-born and country-bred - could lay down their lives in freedom's cause, I know we can come together to face down the challenges of our own time," he said. "We can fix our schools, heal our sick, and rescue our youth from violence and despair."
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
