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President Barack Obama challenged black voters to turn out for Novembers congressional elections if they want to see more of the racial progress in society that allowed him to become the nations first black president.

In remarks last night at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundations annual conference, Obama ticked off a list of achievements that he said showed the enormous progress in the U.S., including steady job growth, a decline in the number of people without health insurance and a falling crime rate.

But our works not done, he said. He spoke of the killing of an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Missouri, and said he hoped that one day children, black and white, wont be scared by discrimination, where everyone has at least a chance for an education and a job.

Prayers and good intentions arent enough, he said.

We have to get back to our schools, our offices, our churches, our beauty shops, our barber shops, he said. Make sure people know there is an election coming up. They need to know how to register, and they need to know how and when to vote. We have to tell them to push back against the cynics.

Obamas address underscored a reality Democrats around the country are facing with less than six weeks before the Nov. 4 mid-term congressional elections: voter enthusiasm is a problem. Voter turnout from groups crucial to the partys recent victories -- young people, minorities and women -- historically declines in midterm elections.

Seven of the 21 Senate seats being defended by Democrats are in states that Obama lost in the last presidential election. Republicans need a net gain of six seats to gain control of the chamber and polls show they are in reach of that goal.

Smiling, Obama told the audience that people often wish him well, note that hes getting gray hair and looking tired and say theyre praying for him.

But we need more than prayer. We need to vote, Obama said. It will not relieve me of my gray hair, but it will help me pass some bills.

National Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a potential presidential candidate in 2016, have focused on Republican efforts to change voting laws as a way to increase urgency among the partys voters for the midterms.

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Obama Tells Black Caucus Votes Important as Prayers