Part social commentary and very much a memoir, Half-Caste: Decidedly Brown in a Black or White World, describes and examines the contemporary pressures that many people from multiracial and mixed ethnicities face in developing their racialized social identity so that they and others may feel comfortable with who they are and how they identify themselves in their own skin. By exploring personal and sensitive topics, such as ethnic and racialized identity formation and drawing on the racism he faced, Jerome Cranston offers insight to the struggles of coming to terms with accepting and declaring his identity as being decidedly Brown.

Throughout Half-Caste: Decidedly Brown in a Black or White World, Cranston shares the challenges and ultimate discovery of his understanding and acceptance that his being Brown is more than just a statement of an identity, it is an understanding of who he is, how he will relate to others and how he will flourish in a world that is divided along ethnic and racialized lines.