what are the narrator's opinion on booker t washington, frederick douglass, and ralph waldo emerson?

Maybe I can start with a solid quote about Emerson (unfortunately I don't know what edition you have so page numbers don't help):

"If I could just speak to Mr. Emerson – Nobody speaks to him, he does all the speaking."

While it is clear that Ellison respects the philosophy of self-reliance, he also notes a rather loud asymmetric relationship between Emerson and his listeners/students. He is always the one doing "the speaking."