Black leaders slam response.(Main)

Byline: STEWART M. POWELL Times Union Washington bureau

WASHINGTON - African-American leaders on Friday criticized the Bush administration for the delayed rescue of predominantly black hurricane victims trapped in New Orleans and urged churches and corporations to step into the breach.

The leaders' angry comments underscored a deepening debate along racial and socioeconomic lines about the pace and scope of humanitarian relief for the predominantly African-American city five days after Hurricane Katrina left the Gulf Coast flooded and in shambles.

"We cannot allow it to be said that the difference between those who lived and those who died in this …