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It’s Tuesday, May 20.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor the North Carolina Museum of Art: Visit the North Carolina Museum of Art to experience special exhibition, “Grace Hartigan: The Gift of Attention,” This exhibition explores the creative exchange between Hartigan and the bold New York poets who inspired her, sharing a fresh perspective on a pioneering American artist, now on view through August 10, 2025.

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Good morning, readers.

After the arduous 2024 election, Democrats have been forced to do some soul searching. One of the primary takeaways is that party leadership is, quite frankly, too damn old.

A new class of political leaders is gathering its forces and preparing to upend the gerontocracy. Anderson Clayton, North Carolina’s 27-year-old state Democratic Party chair, is leading the charge for the youth movement in the state. In recent months, both the Wake and Durham County Democrats elected new board chairs under the age of 30.

Emerson Kirby, the Durham Dems’ new chair, is a Durham native wh0 graduated from Duke just last year with a bachelor’s degree in public policy and a minor in computer science. At a young(er) age, Kirby got involved in local Durham politics, volunteering with nonprofits and on election campaigns. In April, she was elected as chair of the Durham Democrats after serving as third chair for the past two years.

Kirby may be young, but she comes to the position with experience and a sense of personal responsibility to represent other young residents whose voices aren’t being heard. I talked to Kirby about engaging voters outside of election season and being more than the “anti-Trump” party.

Read our Q&A below and have a good Tuesday. 

 —Justin

Read more here.

Durham

Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives are calling on Duke University to end its relationship with Wuhan University, saying Duke Kunshan is advancing Chinese military interests, The Assembly reports.

Wake

People drive for hours to dine at Yagg Sii Tenn in Apex, which serves food from all over Africa and is the setting of Lena Geller’s latest Lunch Money feature for INDY.

ICYMI: Also from Lena—a 1960s era shopping center in Raleigh is having a revival as restaurants like Fiction Kitchen and Mala Pata look for new ways to draw in customers and prepare for the next pandemic.

Orange

A UNC history professor has won a Pulitzer Prize for her book on the resilience and enduring economic influence of Native Americans throughout the colonization of North America, the Daily Tar Heel reports.

North Carolina

With federal funding “slow and uncertain,” Governor Josh Stein is asking legislators to increase funding for Hurricane Helene relief, NC Newsline reports.

WUNC reports that the House budget delays income tax cuts and gives teachers larger raises than the Senate’s proposed spending bill.

Today’s weather

Partly cloudy with a high of 78 degrees.

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