Ethos refers to a rhetorical strategy designed to establish the credibility and reliability of the author. When determining the ways ethos is used in "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," it's also important to establish the purpose of the piece. In this text, Hurston expresses deep pride in being Black and rejects the idea that she has suffered irreparable harm through discriminatory acts.

One way that she argues this position is by establishing her own credibility. She acknowledges that she is the granddaughter of slaves but that this never "registers depression" with her. At the time of her writing, slavery had been abolished for sixty years, and she responds that "the operation was successful and the patient is doing well, thank you."

Hurston also opens the essay with an example of ethos:

I am the only Negro in the United States whose grandfather on the mother’s side was not an Indian chief.

In this line, Hurston somewhat comically separates herself from many Americans—and in this essay, particularly Black Americans—who claim to have Native ancestors. Hurston makes no such claim and instead embraces being Black (or "colored," as she refers to herself) wholeheartedly. To be Black is enough, and her identity is a source of great pride.

Hurston also points out that she grew up without feeling "colored" and that she only arrived at that revelation when she was thirteen; even in her adult life, she really only feels it when "thrown against a sharp white background."

The personal experiences which Hurston narrates in this text build the credibility of her argument. She is a trustworthy voice because of her sense of authority on the subject, shaped through her own life experience.