Meet Luis Correal of Anonymous for the Voiceless in North Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Luis Correal.

Luis, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Although I did not know it at the time, watching this one short video footage of a slaughterhouse was the first step into my journey as an animal rights activist. That short video planted a seed in my psyche that would forever change the way I saw animal products on my plate. After witnessing the process of where my food came from, I decided I no longer wanted to partake in the act of meat eating. I decided to gradually cut out animal flesh from my diet in the following months. The first thing that went was pigs, then cows, then chickens and finally fish. I figured vegetarianism aligned more with my moral compass than how I was previously living. However, a few years later, I started to find out about the egg and the dairy industry. Little did I know, there was tremendous cruelty involved within these industries as well. I had heard about veganism before, but I just thought it was something like an extreme diet that would take away most of the things I was eating and so I disregarded it. But when I was faced with the reality of these industries, I had to dig deep into my moral compass once again and ask myself why I went vegetarian in the first place: it was for the animals.

At that moment of realization, I decided to watch Earthlings, Forks Over Knives and Cowspiracy to truly understand how much veganism takes place and impacts all of these areas (our health, the environment, and the ethics animal exploitation). Veganism at its core is an ethical stance against animal exploitation. However, the health aspect of a whole foods plant-based diet and the net positive environmental effects are a massive plus. Nonetheless, I was still deeply conditioned by culture and overtaken by the convenience aspect of my lifestyle to commit to veganism right there and then. Sometime went by, however, and I stumbled upon videos on YouTube about people in the streets wearing black clothing, wearing masks, holding ”TRUTH” signs and holding laptops in which they were showing slaughterhouse footage (among other videos which present other ways in which non-human animals are exploited) to the public and someone talking to them about what was going on and asking them questions regarding the footage. It was at that moment I knew I wanted to become an animal rights activist. I was still not vegan so I decided that I had to align my moral beliefs with my actions if I wanted to speak against these injustices done to these innocent beings, otherwise, I would be living my life hypocritically and out of alignment with my moral values, which I had been doing in the past. I went vegan and became an animal rights activist that day and haven’t looked back.

Since then, I became the organizer for my local Atlanta chapter with Anonymous for the Voiceless, the organizer of the Atlanta chapter of The Save Movement, I have done an internship with The Humane League, I have traveled and worked with Compassion Over Killing and Animal Equality. I recently applied to another major non-profit animal rights organization to fulfill one of my dreams of being a full-time animal rights activist, so I am crossing my fingers for that opportunity to pan out. Lastly, this year, I will be attending two of the biggest animal rights conferences held around the world to become a better animal rights activist and move forward to see animal liberation.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. Like any venture in life, there are always obstacles to overcome along the way. For instance, it took me a while to fully commit to a vegan lifestyle. It took me becoming an activist to finally make the transition. In retrospect, I wish I had done it sooner. Another obstacle was becoming the organizer or AV: Atlanta. I was not always the organizer for this chapter, I was organizing another chapter closer to where I live: Lawrenceville, GA. AV: Lawrenceville was my baby chapter, but after much work and dedication to it, my co-organizer and I were able to take on being the organizer for AV: Atlanta and make it blossom. It is also still a challenge to balance my job outside activism with activism. Animal rights is my passion, so doing something else that is not my passion feels quite draining at times.

Please tell us about Anonymous for the Voiceless.
The non-profits I organize events for are AV (Anonymous for the Voiceless) and TSM (The Save Movement). As an organizer, I make sure I set up vigils for TSM and cubes of truth for AV. The vigils are an event in which participants stand outside slaughterhouses to what is termed as a bear witness for the animals that are going inside the slaughterhouse that particular day. Bearing witness is a pay to pay respect to the animals’ lives and to extend our compassion to them as much as we can. These animals have very likely never been shown compassion their entire lives. Getting footage of these vigils is also important so that we can post them on social media and help people make the connection with their food choices to the animals that go inside the slaughterhouse. It gives people a more personalized experience of the animals they are consuming on a daily basis. Now the cubes of truth events I organize with AV consist of street activism in which we engage with the public through a series of questioning about animal exploitation. The setup, as the name suggests, is a cube of people standing shoulder by shoulder with black clothing, wearing masks, and either holding signs that say the word ‘TRUTH’ on it or holding a device which shows the many different ways in which we exploit animals around the globe. The public is never harassed nor solicited, they come at their own accord and we then engage them in a peaceful and calm conversation about veganism. AV and TSM are one of the fastest growing animal rights organizations and I love that they are both peaceful organizations that promote kindness, compassion, and truth.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have gone vegan sooner.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.anonymousforthevoiceless.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anonymousforthevoiceless/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anonymousforthevoiceless/

Image Credit:
Christopher Eubanks, Noel Hernandez, Jose Alberto Perez

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