It’s not something a lot of people know: Memphis’ Kyle Anderson is 1/8th Chinese.
It’s also not something he or his family knew a lot about, that side of his family was shrouded in mystery, with the family members having moved to Jamacia (and eventually, to New Jersey where Anderson is from) and the family members that did know about it weren’t exactly forthcoming with details.
However, Anderson and his mother, Suzanne, wanted to know more, so she led the charge and started digging. Going to China when Anderson went with UCLA years ago started the process in earnest, and last summer it came together through a DNA site and connections made there. Anderson and his mother talked about it in a touching feature at Closeup 360 (a website dedicated to player off-the-court stories).“Just being able to go back generations and find relatives from the other side of the world was just so breathtaking,” Kyle tells CloseUp360... “I still don’t have the words to describe what we felt there and how nice the people were, meeting them. It was awesome.”...
Through an arrangement with the Chinese-based media company Acorn Entertainment, Kyle and Suzanne flew 16 hours this summer to meet roughly 30 of their relatives in China...
“It was my second time being there [in China],” Kyle says. “But meeting my family, people you share the same blood with on the other side of the world, that’s just… I don’t know what to say about that. It’s one of the best moments of my life. That’s what I have to say about it. Truly one of the best moments of my life.”
Finally Home.
— CloseUp360 (@CloseUp360) November 21, 2018
Kyle Anderson’s mom, Suzanne, spent years trying to track down their distant relatives in China. This summer, they found their long-lost family in a village in Shenzhen.
Inside their incredible journey for our holiday week series: https://t.co/rHs3b6V8fz #CU360 pic.twitter.com/1CiTCHR8A9
With that connection, Anderson now has a family tree that can be traced back thousands of years.
This time of year we remember just how important family connections can be, how they shape us one way or another. For Anderson, that has taken on a new level of meaning.
