Wilbur Cross was a graduate of Yale and spent 10 years as an editor at Life magazine and contributed many articles to Time and Life. He is the author or coauthor of more than 50 books, including Zeppelins of World War 1, Naval Battles and Heroes, and Presidential Courage. Cross lived on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, until his death in 2019. Gullah Culture was his last book, published when he was 89.

Born and raised on Hilton Head Island, Emory Shaw Campbell is executive director emeritus of the Penn Center and a renowned community leader among the Gullah people. In 2002, he founded Gullah Heritage Trail Tours in an effort to educate tourists about the Gullah language and culture and promote indigenous crafts and artists. He is the coauthor, with Thomas C. Barnwell Jr. and Carolyn Grant, of Gullah Days: Hilton Head Islanders Before the Bridge.