An executive order signed on Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo will make Juneteenth, this Friday, a holiday for state workers. 

Juneteenth commemorates the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas and has come to be a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. 

Cuomo plans to advance legislation that would make Juneteenth a public holiday in New York. 

Currently a day of commemoration in New York since 2004, state lawmakers in recent days have introduced bills that would recognize Juneteenth as a public holiday on par with Dr. Martin Luther Jr.'s birthday. 

The push to make Juneteenth a public holiday at both state and federal level is coming amid a societal reckoning surrounding police brutality and racial inequality against people of color in the United States.