Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics New York lawmakers are pushing forward with a proposal to make Juneteenth a statewide full public holiday. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Cel-Liberation Day, is an American holiday celebrated annually on June 19. It commemorates the events of June 19, 1865, when Union general Gordon Granger read federal orders in Galveston, Texas, declaring all previously enslaved people in Texas to be free. New York has been observing Juneteenth as a day of commemoration since 2004. Spurred on by recent protests and demonstrations over policing and racism, lawmakers have now introduced bills to go further and make June 19 a public holiday, giving Juneteenth the same status as Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Washington's birthday. There is a similar push on the federal level to make June 19 a federal holiday. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.