Power 96.5 Lansing Legends 2020:

Abel Sykes, Jr.

ABEL BAXTON SYKES, JR. WAS BORN TO ABEL BAXTON SYKES, SR.,
AND GRACE GLADYS BUCHANAN ON JUNE 1, 1934, IN KANSAS
CITY. HE SERVED THE NEXT FOUR YEARS IN THE UNITED STATES
AIR FORCE WHERE HE PLAYED THE SAXOPHONE IN THE BAND
AND WAS DRUM MAJOR.

ABEL SYKES JR. WAS THE SECOND PRESIDENT – AND FIRST
AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT – OF LANSING COMMUNITY
COLLEGE. HE HELD THE POSITION FROM 1990 UNTIL HE RETIRED
IN 1999. SYKES WAS THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN TO SERVE AS
CHAIRMAN OF THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS. LANSING COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S ABEL B.
SYKES JR. TECHNOLOGY AND LEARNING CENTERS ARE NAMED IN
HIS HONOR. HIS HOBBIES INCLUDED PHOTOGRAPHY, AVIATION
AND SAILING MUSKEGON LAKE.
MR. SYKES JR. MADE HIS TRANSITION IN 2012 AND HIS LEGACY
CONTINUES TO LIVE THROUGH HIS FAMILY.