ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday signed legislation designating Juneteenth as an official public holiday in New York state, while he also appointed a commission that will oversee the creation of a statue honoring the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The new law celebrates Juneteenth, a day which commemorates the end to slavery and celebrates Black and African American freedom and achievements.

Earlier this year, the governor issued an executive order recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday for state employees.

“This new public holiday will serve as a day to recognize the achievements of the Black community, while also providing an important opportunity for self-reflection on the systemic injustices that our society still faces today,” Cuomo said in a press release.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when the news of liberation came to Texas more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863.

African Americans across the state were made aware of their right to freedom on this day when U.S. Army Major Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston with federal troops to read General Order No. 3 announcing the end of the Civil War and that all enslaved were now free.

The Ginsburg statue commission includes members of Ginsburg’s family, close friends, colleagues and other leaders. The commission will provide recommendations to Cuomo regarding the artist, design, location and installation of the memorial statue.

“Justice Ginsburg will forever stand as a singular figure in history, unmatched in her pursuit of justice and equality under the law for all Americans,” Cuomo said.

Only the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg “was a tireless champion for women’s rights and throughout her lifetime brilliantly navigated a complex landscape of gender-based discrimination to ultimately ascend to the highest court in the land,” the governor said.

He added that her legacy as a jurist, professor, lawyer and scholar “will endure for generations and we are honored to erect a permanent statue in memory of Justice Ginsburg. Lord knows she deserves it.”

The commission will consist of 18 members, including Ginsburg’s daughter and two granddaughters.

Honorary members include Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. senator for New York and former secretary of state in the Obama administration; New York Attorney General Letitia James: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor; and Gloria Steinem, the feminist activist and co-founder of Ms. Magazine.