Racial inequality is at the heart of “Me and the Mule.” The poem introduces the mule as a symbol for the plight of African Americans: “My old mule, / He's gota grin on his face” (Lines 1-2). Because mules tend to be seen as obstinate creatures only fit for hard toil, this grin at first seems to be an overt marker of simplemindedness on the part of a beast of burden. The symbolic connection between the “grinning mule” and the speaker thus feels cruel and needless.

However, readers quickly see that Hughes is flipping the typical connotations of being a mule—and of being Black—on their head. He embraces the identification with the mule rather than rejecting it: “I’m like that old mule— / Black—and don't give a damn!” (Line 6). This makes it clear that the grin is doing something different in the poem. Despite the harsh treatment that the mule endures, it faces the world with a human expression that gives evidence to the intellect that its outward appearance might hide for those prone to bias. Like the mule, the speaker wants to prevent himself from internalizing the prejudice of the outside world, not giving “a damn” about racist views and proudly declaring himself to be “Black.