It is quite fair to "add" where an ingredient is missing but to "subtract" unnecessarily is to detract. 
I lived in the United States during the Martin Luther King days. I shook his hand but I didn't go with him. I am/was anti-discrimination and even though not a US citizen I feel a share of the "we" in the history of discrimination. 
I believe that the author is commenting on a society and though not explicitly is acknowledging people like Maureen Tighe-Brown above and those who fought it. She is not ignoring the Thatchers or other leaders who did little or nothing or were directly implicit or involved. She is "local" writing locally.