Kitty Daniels: Funeral Cost & Home Preservation Fund

My grandmother Kitty Daniels was a living jazz legend.

She was an amazing jazz musician whose music brought joy to everyone she played for. An incomparable singer and pianist, she raised three generations of children, including myself, on her love of music.

More than just a musician, she was a pillar of her community and an activist. A few years ago, she was honored by the city of Tampa with her own holiday, August 27th, because of the work she did as a Black activist to ensure that other Black musicians and artists could join the musicians' union.

She also helped her neighborhood, where she was born, in Ybor City, offering loans and a helping hand to her neighbors in need, helping pay bills and sustaining their livelihoods.

Her talent and her compassion made her one of the greatest people I have ever known and a true Ybor icon.

At one time, you could see her every single night at one of Tampa’s greatest restaurants, Donatello’s, entertaining people and helping them bring out the best in themselves.

On January 2, 2025, at 1:30 PM, she was pronounced dead from her long private battle with lung cancer. She tried her best to never let on how sick she really was to everybody, even me… It’s hard to write this because I’m overwhelmed with sadness. A pain like I have never felt before because she really wasn’t like a grandmother to me; she was really my mother.

Unfortunately, because of her long fight with this terrible illness, she died penniless. No money to pay for funeral arrangements or save her home in the heart of Ybor City from the bank.

The money donated will be used to pay for funeral expenses and to save and restore the home that she built in the neighborhood that she loved and fought for. This home will be preserved for her long time romantic partner Majid Shabazz and her children and grandchildren. Ms. Kitty always wanted her family to live and build back her property in historic Ybor.

I ask for help with this lift from the people and the community that she helped breathe life into… Thank you all for your donations.