The state senate this afternoon unanimously passed a bill designating June 19 in each year, known as Juneteenth Day, as a State and public holiday.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas to inform enslaved people of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and of their freedom.  The announcement from General Granger led to celebration and jubilation, which has continued each year in various forms throughout the United States for over 150 years.