President Barack Obama has urged young black Americans to have bigger dreams than becoming rap or football stars.

Mr Obama said parents need to force their children to set aside the video games and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

He also called on them to set their sights beyond the typical black role models.

He said: "Education is the path to a better future. Our kids can't all aspire to be the next LeBron or Lil Wayne.

"I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers.

"I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States," he said.

Mr Obama was speaking at the 100th anniversary celebration of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the country's oldest civil rights group.

He called on people to recapture the spirit of the civil rights movement of a half century ago to tackle problems that have struck African-Americans disproportionately such as unemployment, and HIV.

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