CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Friday is Meck Dec Day, which is the day designated to celebrate the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

What You Need To Know

  • It marks the anniversary of May 20, 1775
  • It’s said this is the day the people of Mecklenburg County declared freedom from Britain with the reading of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence

According to legend, on May 20, 1775, the declaration was read aloud, and, if true, means the people of Mecklenburg County declared independence a year before our founding fathers in Philadelphia.

However, the existence of this document has been debated for decades.

Some say it’s a tall tale, while others believe it’s real.

According to the development director at the Charlotte Museum of History, Lauren Wallace, there are arguments both for and against the "Meck Dec" being real.

She says she’s not surprised that people were debating freedom at this time.

"I know that at a moment here in 1775, and kind of throughout the late-18th century, you have so many people having conversations about what freedom, liberty and all of those pieces of their story mean,” she said. "I would have been surprised if there was no mention of any conversation.”

Robert Ryals, a historian on the board of the Mecklenburg Historical Association, also presents both sides.

He says he does his due diligence to not say explicitly “yes, it definitely existed,” or “no, it definitely didn’t exist.”

While we may never truly know, Wallace says there are important lessons to take away from this day.

She says under this document, not everybody was offered freedom.

“It’s really only liberty as it applies to propertied white gentlemen,” she said.

She wants people to use this day to instead discuss how society can progress.

"We as historians were not proud of what they came up with of who was deserving of those rights and liberties,” she said. "In 2022, I think we can talk about how that definition has expanded and how we want to continue that expanding.”

On Friday in Uptown at Trade and Tryon, there will be Meck Dec Day events beginning at noon.

The Charlotte Museum of History will also hold a day of educational events from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 21.