A marketplace in Dudley Square in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood was vandalized with the phrase "White Lives Matter," the market's owner noticed Wednesday. The market, Black Market, highlights the work of black businesses and artisans in the city.

Congressman Michael Capuano, who represents Dudley Square, said the incident demonstrated that Boston has "work to do" on race issues.

"I do think things have gotten better over long periods of time, but we are not where this society should be and not, I think, where a lot of us had hoped we'd be after so many years of trying to confront the situation," Capuano told Boston Public Radio Thursday. "We have more work to do." 

Capuano proposed hosting a series of community meetings to generate ideas about how to confront the issue "head-on."

"I really think we should convene a whole bunch of low-key, thoughtful closed-door conversations amongst a variety of people in this area," he said. "It would be easy for me to come up with ideas about what we should do, but I'm not necessarily the one who might see it the best."

"Clearly we have problems and I think the only way to deal with it is to confront it head-on," Capuano added.