A slave became a Revolutionary War hero. Now, 151 years late, he's being honored

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/27/151-years-late-revolutionary-war-vet-honored/ [login to see] /
This article was excellent until you get to the last paragraph.
"America was only founded because everybody was involved, not just old white men, like a lot of people think about when they think about the American Revolution," Shalis said. "Without every single segment of society that was involved, it wouldn’t have been possible."

The author could have left out the "old white men" comment. Was it really necessary?