'Black Dads Matter' mural appears in Highland Park

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (WJBK) - Black Lives Matter-- it's perhaps the most poignant, controversial and divisive slogan since the turn of the century and in Highland Park, someone is turning it on its head.

It's not Black Lives Matter but black dads.

There were mixed reaction to the controversial tagging of a contentious catchphrase in Highland Park. The slogan is on an apartment building on Woodward and Pilgrim.

"The message is cogent to today right now especially this particular area because there are not a lot of black dads who are actually being fathers," one person said.

Stacey Calwise spoke about her 8 and 4-year-old children.

"Their dads are black but they're not around. So as far as black dads matter, not in their case," she said.

The Black Lives Matter slogan first surfaced online after the George Zimmerman's acquittal in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

It burst onto the mainstream after a white police officer shot and killed Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

"As long as black lives are not as valuable as white lives, then we must continue to say Black Lives Matter," said pastor and activist Reverend David Bullock.

People who live in this neighborhood say the painting has been up for about a week or two and it was likely the work of one person.

"In America we all have a point. Donald Trump has a point. But making a point doesn't mean you're pointing to the truth and sometimes you can make a point and lead people astray. Let's keep the main thing the main thing: We want all lives to matter equally," Bullock said.

FOX 2's Randy Wimbley spoke to a few people who say they know the person behind that painting. He passed along his information but never heard back.