Sykes attended the Luther Rice Seminary & University, graduating in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
He completed an internship in clinical pastoral education at the University Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.
[2] He was elected as the President of the St. Petersburg chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in November 2010.
[1][3] As a member of the Democratic Party, Sykes declared his intention to run for the United States House of Representatives in the 2014 elections, challenging incumbent Republican David Jolly in Florida's 13th congressional district.
[4] The Pinellas County Democratic Party chairman told him he would be "persona non grata" if he ran, and Sykes dropped out.