LOS ANGELES�Calling apologies from Walt Disney Co., too little, too late, Blacks outraged at a radio promotion called "The Black Hoe" began a series of nationwide boycotts of Disney stores and theme parks.

The protests, which began Aug. 26 at Disney�s Del Amo Fashion Center store, stem from a promotion broadcast by Disney-owned KLOS-FM�s talk radio hosts Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, who last year gave out dark gardening tools dubbed "Black Hoes" to their "Mark and Brian Show" listeners. At an Aug. 24 press conference, the Black Defense League, the Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.), Nation of Islam, Brotherhood Crusade, local clergy and activists declared they would not tolerate racism and bigotry spewed over the airwaves.

The promotion was clearly making use of a derogatory, insulting term used for prostitutes and demeaning Black women, not a move to make gardening tools more popular, angry protesters declared.

"We want Disney closed up! We�re gonna hit them in the pocket where it hurts. They hurt us. They denigrated us. They humiliated us," said Dr. Sandra Moore, vice chairwoman of C.O.R.E. It�s time to send a message to Mark and Brian, KLOS, and anyone who believes it is OK to dehumanize Black women and Black people, she said.

"No Mo Black Hoe, Disney�s Got To Go!" "Black women are not wh---s and the promotion is not cute!" protesters shouted.

"We are calling for the Federal Communications Commission to pull KLOS� license and we want every employee at KLOS-FM to undergo sensitivity training administered jointly by C.O.R.E. and the Nation of Islam," Dr. Moore continued.

Racist, insensitive, callous acts, like the "Black Hoe" promotion give way to the rape and murder of Black girls and women like Sherrice Iverson, a seven-year-old murdered by a white teen in a Nevada casino rest room; Tyisha Miller, a teenager shot to death by Riverside, Calif., police officers; and Margaret Mitchell, a homeless woman killed by a police officer in Los Angeles, some say.

According to news reports, ABC President Steven M. Bornstein issued a statement Aug. 24 admitting the promotion was inappropriate and unacceptable. He also apologized to KLOS employees and all who were offended. Dr. Moore said protests will continue, with one planned for Disney�s affluent Century City Mall store. A Black female KLOS-FM employee who complained about the promotion is suing the station, saying she was harassed for speaking out.

Annette Brice, 35, felt anything but humor about what some call a joke. "It really hurt me because describing us as �Black hoes� as part of a racial joke, and putting that out to the public like that, makes me feel bad. My daughter is affected, my mother, my grandmother�all of my loved ones who are female and Black. They further disrespect our Black men because if you�re talking about the Black woman, you are also talking about the Black man," she said.

"The impact is devastating to our young people, in particular, because they may not understand the metaphors put out there that often times send a double meaning when it comes to degrading our people. And if it�s left unchallenged, then it doesn�t do anything but encourage people to continue to do this," said Dr. Donald Evans, of the National Association of Brothers and Sisters In and Out, a prison ministry.

"To those who are full of hate out there already, it sends a message that anything they might do to us, like putting us behind trucks and dragging us until our bodies come apart or cutting off our head, is O.K.," he said.

It should never have happened, said Dr. Evans.