UNIA: A Government Hiding in Plain Sight

By Jeffery Kazembe Batts
The 67th International Convention of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League took place August 20-24, 2025, for the first time in Brooklyn. Business sessions took place during the day at the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza. Allied organizations opened their headquarters for evening activities.

Leaders and members traveled from Los Angeles, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Phoenix, and Washington D.C. Representation also came from Curacao and Toronto, Canada. Division 431 hosted the convention led by Brooklyn’s youthful President Rodney Dugue. The roughly 75 attendees were a mixture of elders, youth, middle-aged, Christians, Muslims, African spiritualists, entrepreneurs, laborers, students, and professors.

The pattern of the five-day gathering was set on Tuesday evening, August 19, at the Flanbwayan Haitian Literacy Project headquarters in East Flatbush. The ‘Meet and Greet’ started and ended as scheduled. Enthusiastic and friendly Garveyites mixed and mingled while enjoying delicious Haitian cuisine into the night. The next morning at 10:00 am the convention officially began. UNIA & ACL President-General and Administrator Michael R. Duncan and First Assistant President General Raymond Dugue, who is the father of the Brooklyn president, were seated at the front table along with other officers. Members sang songs and recited pledges in sync with the philosophies and opinions of Marcus Garvey in a room decorated in the Black unity colors of red, black, and green flag, which Garvey gave to the race in 1919 when most Black people had no flag where they were respected.

Division leaders reported on activities completed during the first half of this year. The various divisions reported having collective book readings and writings, museum visits, Black August events for political prisoners, website development and media engagement as recent activities. All the divisions had an activity for Malcolm X’s 100th birthday celebration on May 19, and of course, organized major activities for Marcus Garvey’s recent 137th birthday.

During the three days of business meetings, the discipline and commitment of the members overflowed. People made presentations, questions were asked, and resolutions were voted on, with no disruptions. High Chancellor Antoinette Moseley and others shared how they are handling their responsibilities with the engaged membership. Meticulous detailing of finances and structure was evident. First Assistant President Raymond Dugue and the President of Queens Division #432 Oster Bryan facilitated much of the proceedings. During each day of the convention, at the right time, President General Michael Duncan either shared his insight on an issue or made an inspiring call to the members to do even more to Uplift the Race.
Hiding in plain sight. The UNIA considers itself to be a government.

They contend that all people who are Black are citizens. All Black people need to do is activate their membership. Economic development, being the path to power, is a core principle of the organization. Currently, the Federation of African, Caribbean & American Restaurant Owners Corporation (ROC) is a major instrument that is helping the UNIA to grow in NYC. The large, south side Queens-located supermarket is an investment opportunity that attendees were urged to support. At the end of Thursday’s meeting, convention host Rodney screened “Building a Black Nation One ROC at a Time.” Another major project discussed is rebuilding the International Headquarters of UNIA, located in Philadelphia.

Besides the “Meet and Greet” at Flanbwayan, in the spirit of building alliances, activities were held at the headquarters of allies after the business meeting at the Restoration Plaza. Wednesday night was a live jazz show at nearby Sistas Place, home of the December 12th Movement. Friday night was a “Geopolitical Panel Discussion with WBAI Hosts” at the Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to African People headquarters in Queens. Saturday night, a “Red, Black, and Green Gala” was held at Murette’s Banquet Hall in East Flatbush, where members dined and danced into the late night. On Sunday, members were given a tour of East New York’s Black development led by Operation Power.

World dynamics are different now than when Black people in the United States were just a generation out of slavery. Unlike when Marcus Garvey was alive, there are now many independent (neo-colonial) African states. The current UNIA is a fraction of the ten-million-member-strong, global movement that was being built before the United States government framed Garvey, and the USA, France, and Britain united to preserve white supremacy by sabotaging the organization. Demonstrated by the success of the 67th convention and the ROC, President General Michael Duncan, along with a strong administration, is leading a sincere effort as one of the cubs of the tiger to ‘Uplift the Race’. They ask, ”Will you activate your membership?”