NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SOUDA BAY, Greece (June 15, 2023) Naval Support Activity (NSA) Souda Bay service members and personnel celebrated Juneteenth National Independence Day during a ceremony at The Anchor on June 15, 2023. The ceremony included speakers from NSA Souda Bay who shared personal reflections about the importance of the holiday and honoring their cultures.

“It means freedom,” said Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Jayla Coleman. “It means the end of broken mindsets and mentally fortified chains. The broken mindset that says ‘I should be ashamed of the way my melanin shows and the way my curls bend on my head.’ Juneteenth paved the way for me to be resilient, powerful and courageous. Let every scar tell a story. Let every broken chain show our relentlessness.”

Juneteenth honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. It refers specifically to June 19, 1865, when enslaved persons in Galveston, Texas, received the news that the Civil War was over and that all enslaved persons had been emancipated. On June 17, 2021, President Joseph Biden signed into law Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, creating a federal holiday to commemorate Juneteenth.

“For more than 150 years, Juneteenth has represented a pivotal point in the fight for justice in the United States,” said Capt. Odin J. Klug, commanding officer, NSA Souda Bay. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate the victories toward equality that we’ve made as a country, but also to recognize there is still more work to do. As a nation, we are at our best when everyone’s intrinsic worth is recognized, when we maintain the ability to acknowledge and learn from past mistakes, and when we resolve to work toward a better future.”

NSA Souda Bay is an operational ashore installation which enables and supports U.S., Allied, Coalition, and Partner nation forces to preserve security and stability in the European, African, and Central Command areas of responsibility. For more information, visit us at www.cnic.navy.mil/SoudaBay or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NSASoudaBay.