Sy’s parents were Joe and Jean Kravitz, who lived in a Russian-Jewish neighborhood. In his memoir Let Love Rule, Lenny Kravitz wrote about his father, “He loves music, especially jazz and theater.

"How are you Jewish if you’re Black ... dad while he was receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "Lenny Kravitz, I've had the pleasure of knowing you for a long time, and I must say ...