Top aides of the Bush administration have met with African American leaders amid criticism of the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
The meeting, held at the White House, came a day after U.S. congressman Elijah Cummings, a Democrat from Maryland, complained about a slow response in helping residents of stricken areas, a majority of whom are black.
Mr. Cummings says he believes the meeting was to assure black leaders that any missteps in getting relief to hurricane victims would be corrected.
Among those represented at the meeting were the Congressional Black Caucus, the Urban League and the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).
Some information for this report provided by AP.