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In a commencement address on a rain drenched Sunday at Morehouse College, President Obama drew on his own experience growing up as a black man in America to tell the graduates before him that theres no time for excuses, saying that whatever difficulties theyve had to slog through, they pale in comparison to the hardships previous generations endured and overcame.br /br /We know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices, Mr. Obama told the roughly 500 graduates of the all male historically black college founded in Atlanta, Georgia, shortly after the end of the Civil War. Growing up, I made a few myself, and I have to confess, sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down. But one of the things youve learned over the last four years is that theres no longer any room for excuses.br /br /Not because racism and discrimination no longer exist, the president added. We know thats still out there. Its just that in todays hyperconnected, hypercompetitive world, with a billion young people from China and India and Brazil entering the global workforce alongside you many of them who started with a lot less than you did nobody is going to give you anything you havent earned.br /br /The graduates, who were soaked by the downpour throughout the address, frequently broke into the presidents remarks to applaud as their families, a sea of beaming faces cloaked in ponchos, looked on.br /br /You now hail from a lineage and legacy of immeasurably strong men, Mr. Obama said, reciting a list of Morehouse alumni that includes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Frederick Douglass. These men were many things to many people. They knew full well the role that racism played in their lives, but when it came to their own accomplishments and sense of purpose, they had no time for excuses.br /br /First lady Reject the slander that educated blacks are trying to act whitebr /Obama offers robust defense of citizenship, governmentbr /Mr. Obama recalled example of Dr. King, who was just 15 years old when he enrolled here at Morehouse, where he would forge the intellect, the soul force, the discipline and compassion that would transform America.br /br /With that illustrious heritage to inspire them and amid more signs of economic revitalization in America the president said, your generation is uniquely poised for success unlike any before it.br /br /But that doesnt mean we dont have more work to do together, he cautioned. If you think you can get over in this economy, just because you have a Morehouse degree, you are in for a rude awakening. But if you stay hungry, keep hustling, keep on your grind and get other folks to do the same nobody can stop you.br /br /He also asked the graduates to work to improve and empower their own community, saying, if were being honest with ourselves, too few of our brothers and sisters have the opportunities youve had here at Morehouse. In troubled neighborhoods all across the country many of them heavily African American too few of our citizens have role models to guide them.br /br /And that brings me to my second request of you, the president said. Just as Morehouse has taught you to expect more of yourself, inspire those who look up to you to expect more of themselves.br /br /Be a good role model and set a good example for that young brother coming up, Mr. Obama said. If you know someone who isnt on point, go back and bring that brother along./p