MecDec Book & Beer Release is May 20th

Perhaps you’ve heard of renowned historian David Fleming. No? Well, surely you’re familiar with the stirring document by which the colonists declared independence from Great Britain in… 1775? WHAT?

Alright. David Fleming is not a renowned historian, he’s a renowned sports journalist and budding historian. But the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is very real. And through years of meticulous research—albeit, somewhat irreverently presented in the grand tradition of Sarah Vowell or Alexis Coe—Fleming has demonstrated that a small group of Princeton intellectuals and Scots-Irish patriots wrote the first, true Declaration of Independence in Charlotte, North Carolina, signed on May 20, 1775. In WHO’S YOUR FOUNDING FATHER? One Man’s Epic Quest to Uncover the First, True Declaration of Independence
(Hachette Books; 5/16/23; 9780306828775), he makes his case.

You can pre-order a signed copy of “Who’s Your Founding Father,” by David Fleming (above), along with a 4-pack of MecDec Honey Ale and a 1775 pint glass on our website by following THIS LINK.

Please join us at Lost Worlds for the national book launch coupled with a craft beer release, MecDec Honey Ale. Fleming's new book deserves a day of storytelling recounting his research documented in this entertaining tale of his epic journey to uncover the first, true, Declaration of Independence. Here's how the day will unfold:

12:30 Welcome to MecDec Day!
Scott Syfert, May 20 Society co-founder, gives an overview of MecDec Day and its significance to Charlotte and the state of North Carolina.

1:15 – 2:00 Book Sales and Author Signing + Merchandise Give aways

2:00 – 3:00: Book Talk: Meet David Fleming
He'll discuss the idea for the book, the research journey; key locations around Charlotte; his writing process and the road to publication.

3:00-4:00 Book Sales and Author Signing

4:00 – 4:30 MecDec Honey Ale TENTtalk
Beer education and tasting under the big tent in the Biergarten

4:30 – 5:00 Book Sales and Author Signing

6:00 – 7:00 Moderator Interview and excerpt readings + audience Q/A

About the author:
David Fleming is a senior writer at ESPN. During the last three decades at Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN he has been one of the industry’s most prolific, versatile, and imaginative longform writers, traveling the globe while penning more than 35 cover stories and numerous groundbreaking pieces on everything from the Super Bowl and Steph Curry to the Musical Chairs World Championship and the NFL’s obsession with glutes. He is also the author of two books, Breaker Boys: The NFL’s Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship and Noah's Rainbow: A Father’s Emotional Journey from the Death of his Son to the Birth of his Daughter. A native of Detroit, Fleming lives in North Carolina with his wife and daughters.