Question

Which of these statements from Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis is an implicitly stated opinion on the nation's state of affairs during the civil rights movement? I've said this many times: If he had been born in another time, in another place, or of another race, A. Philip Randolph would have been a prime minister, or a president, or a king. The movement had a goal of an integrated society, an interracial democracy, a Beloved Community. What Malcolm X represented were the seeds of something different, something that would eventually creep into the movement itself and split it apart. He was the undisputed leader, the undisputed symbol of what the movement had come to, at least at that point in time. His very presence spoke for itself. There was a tremendous need then, and there remains a need today, for someone to take hold of the urban centers in the North and give them that sense of direction. NextReset

Answer 1

I would say the correct answer is the first option - I've said this many times: If he had been born in another time, in another place, or of another race, A. Philip Randolph would have been a prime minister, or a president, or a king. 
I believe this is his personal opinion on the matter - he mentioned this opinion many times, that he personally believes Randolph should have taken those positions, but he was 'merely' the leader of the Civil Rights Movement at the time.