JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- An editorial cartoon in last Friday's Florida Times-Union depicting a gunman wearing a T-shirt saying "Don't Snitch" continues to draw criticism, with some black leaders calling for an apology, the firing of the cartoonist and other demands.

Two young children drawn in the cartoon say "I didn't see nuttin'!" Then the gunman says, "Now that's a good little ho!

In a letter sent to all Jacksonville television stations as well as the newspaper, the Jacksonville Leadership Coalition called the cartoon "racist, culturally insensitive and degrading to African-American women."

In addition to the apology, the group also called for the firing of cartoonist Ed Gamble, the hiring of a person of African-American descent for the newspaper's editorial board and a meeting with black leaders to "resolve the issue."

The letter quotes the Rev. Rudolph McKissick Jr., who described the cartoon as "insensitive to African American women, children and the community."

In Sunday's Times-Union, editorial page editor Mike Clark said that while he reviewed and approved the cartoon, he admits that "Using the word 'ho' was bad judgment, and I regret that I did not edit it out."

The newspaper's reader advocate quoted Gamble as saying that while he appreciated that the term was demeaning to women, he said, "I was making a point that rappers are demeaning to women."

In the background of the cartoon, a billboard displays: "Rap your life away."

Dr. Juan Gray, chairman of the board of the SCLC's Jacksonville chapter, called for the Times-Union to apologize for its poor judgment.

"After the apology, we can move toward reconciliation.

The letter was signed by Richard Burton, national board member of the NAACP, Desmond Muhammad, president of the Jacksonville branch of the SCLC, Marcus Muhammad of the National of Islam and Edward Preston, president of the Jacksonville Leadership Coalition.