Las Cruces storyteller: Deep roots, strong voices, uplifting tales

Sarah Addison tells stories that reach back into the bleakest pages of American history, recounting tales of slavery, oppression, struggle and sacrifice. But her stories are always full of hope and humor and triumph over incredible obstacles.

Addison performs under the name Juba and is a national-award-winning storyteller and president of Storytellers of Las Cruces (STLC). Earlier this year, she won the Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Network, one of four recipients of its regional service and leadership award. Addison has lived in Las Cruces since 1995 and has been a member of STLC for 18 years and has served multiple terms as president.

Among Addison’s most popular characters are Cathay Williams (1844-93), who disguised herself as a man to join the U.S. Army as a Buffalo Soldier in the 1860s and served in the American West, and Susie King Taylor (1848-1912), the first Black nurse to serve during the Civil War.

“You have to be able to tell your story,” she said.

Addison tells “folktales and fables,” retelling stories that are in the public domain and have no copyright.

Addison also got permission from author Irene Smalls to tell a story based on Smalls’ children’s book “Ebony Sea,” opening that presentation by singing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” an African-American spiritual that dates to the mid-19^th century.

“I love stories about strong women,” Addison said. “It's amazing how many women unsung ‘sheroes’ are hidden in history,” including Williams and Taylor and other iconic figures from American history like Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks.

Addison also incorporates life lessons into her stories, especially when she performs for children.

Her stories are always upbeat, with an underlying theme that “it could have been worse.”

“Lift ’em up. I don’t want anyone to learn they’re sad,” Addison said. “Life is like a roller coaster – ups and downs. You tell how you survived the valleys. To keep from crying, you have to laugh.”

Sharing a character’s trials and tribulations “lets people know we’re all the same,” she said.

The daughter of Mississippi sharecroppers, Addison said her love of books helped guide her into storytelling.

“I traveled around the world just by reading,” she said.

“Leah’s Journey” by Gloria Goldreich, which won the 1979 National Jewish Book Award for fiction, was a particularly inspirational book, Addison said, helping her learn about a culture different from her own.

“It intrigued me. I learned so much,” she said.

Addison already had deep roots in the art of storytelling, which is as old as mankind and predates the written word. She is descended from the griots, West African storytellers, poets, musicians and singers.

Addison’s mother was also an important influence on her life and her pursuit of storytelling.

“The older I get, the wiser she becomes,” Addison said about her mother.

“As long as you have books, you can educate yourself,” was her mother’s strong belief, Addison said.

Her mother had only an eighth-grade education, but “you would have thought she had a college degree,” Addison said.

In an age when people – and especially children – aren’t reading or writing as much as they used to, keeping storytelling alive is an important mission for Addison.

The world’s oral tradition is “just as vital as writing,” she said. “Before the written word, that’s how information was passed on.”

“Tell your story so people will know who you are,” she said.