Describing The New York Post’s monkey cartoon as an "invitation to assassination," the NAACP Saturday called the newspaper’s apology weak and promised a boycott unless Editor in Chief Col Allan and cartoonist Sean Delonas are fired.

Following a swarm of protest, including barbs from such notable figures as singer John Legend and filmmaker Spike Lee, the Post wrote in an editorial on its Web site that the cartoon was slamming the economic stimulus bill passed by Congress, … but "to those who were offended by the image, we apologize.

That was actually "a half of an apology, without elaboration," countered NAACP President Benjamin Jealous. The drawing "picks off the scabs of all the racial wounds," he added.

The cartoon depicted two White police officers, one with a smoking gun in his hand; a chimpanzee lay on the ground in a pool of blood with two bullet holes in its stomach. One officer says to the other, "They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.

The cartoon is an example of "thoughtlessness taken to the extreme," said NAACP Chairman Julian Bond. "Anyone who is not offended by it does not have any sensitivity.

In an open letter to the Post’s editor, Legend wrote, "I've read your lame statement in response to the outrage you provoked. Shame on you …offensive.