CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice marked the day celebrating the final emancipation of black slaves during the Civil War Friday with a proclamation naming June 19 as Juneteenth.

“Today is really a special day; a commemoration of the end of slavery,” Justice said Friday as he held the proclamation. “I am signing a proclamation today — and right here is the proclamation that’s been signed — to declare Juneteenth…a day of recognition in this country and this state that today was the day that all slavery was ended.”

Juneteenth happened to fall on the state holiday set aside for West Virginia’s birthday today, as state workers had Friday off.

“Today of all days, is the day we just happen to be off from the standpoint of tomorrow is our state’s birthday. West Virginia is 157 years old,” Justice said.

According to the National Registry of Juneteenth Organizations and Supporters, Juneteenth commemorates the official end of slavery after Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger announced the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of black slaves after landing in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.

Even though President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves on Jan. 1, 1863, and the Confederate States of America surrundered at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, news of the Emancipation Proclamation was kept from Texas slaves — one of the furthest outposts in the Confederacy. Until Union soldiers arrived two months after the surrender, there was no way to enforce it. Granger, upon his arrival in Galveston, issued General Order 3.

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,” the order stated. “This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”

While celebrated in the black community, Juneteenth saw a decline in the early 1900s. The annual event saw a resurgence in the 1960s with the Civil Rights movement.

Juneteenth celebrations have become major events over the last few years, though the event has received considerable attention due to the recent instances of black deaths at the hand of police, including George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.

All three deaths have results in protests in major cities, as police officers involved in the deaths of Floyd and Brooks are facing criminal charges and the officer involved in the Taylor shooting is being fired.

Justice’s proclamation came during his coronavirus briefing, where he announced additional free COVID-19 testing at sites across West Virginia over the next few weeks, including today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the North Wheeling Dream Center in Ohio County. While the testing is open for everyone, it is focused on minority communities and older communities at most risk for COVID-19.

According to the Department of Health and Human Resources, 6.9 percent of those who tested positive for COVID-19 are black. According to a Yale University study, black people have a greater chance of dying from the coronavirus than white people.