The family said they are disappointed that good friends are thinking about moving away from Massachusetts to North Carolina in part to live closer to more middle-class black people.

"Maybe it's because I haven't lived outside Massachusetts," Mendez-Morgan said. "I agree it's not an easy place for people of color. For those of us who have stayed and dug deep and committed ourselves, what we get in return is just amazing. A sense of belonging. A sense of identity. Hope."