Senate and State of New York Recognize Juneteenth as Official Holiday

The Senate joined Governor Andrew Cuomo in recognizing Juneteeth as an official holiday, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The day has been celebrated on June 19th by African-Americans and others since the late Nineteeth Century. The date originated on June 19, 1865, when enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, Texas, heard the news that they were free.