Governor Andrew Cuomo says this Friday, June 19, known as Juneteenth in honor of the end of slavery in the U.S., will be a holiday for New York state workers. The Democrat says he’ll work to make it a statewide holiday for 2021.
Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865, when slaves in Texas were finally freed, the last state that had not complied with President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Cuomo says it’s even more important to honor the day in the era of worldwide protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
“It is a day that we should all reflect upon,” Cuomo said. “It’s a day that is especially relevant in this moment in history.”
The governor signed an executive order giving state workers this Friday off, and says he will propose a bill to make the date a statewide holiday next year.
The legislature is expected to approve the measure.
