Juneteenth Designated As Official State Holiday In New York

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday signed legislation making Juneteenth an official state holiday.

June 19 commemorates the day when African Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned that slaves had been freed and the Civil War had ended.

That was more than two years after the emancipation proclamation.

Juneteenth has been celebrated by African Americans since 1866.

It was also recently declared an official state holiday in New Jersey.

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