I’m a huge fan of horse operas, and I’ve watched many of the best westerns of all time.
However, one thing that has always kind of bugged me about the genre is that a number of classic westerns either A: Don’t feature any Black characters whatsoever, or B: feature Black characters, but in a minute role, or in a demeaning fashion (I’m looking at you, 1931 Cimarron).
That’s why when I see Black characters featured prominently in westerns, I get super excited. So, here are just a few such examples. Yah!
Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman) - Unforgiven
The story of a disfigured sex worker, and the bounty her friends put on the men who did it to her, Unforgiven is often seen as a meditative western, starring none other than Clint Eastwood. It’s one of my all-time favorites, and I often go back and forth on whether I think The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, or Unforgiven is the better western.
Eastwood, who also directed the Oscar-winning film, is the star of the picture, and he plays William Munny, a former outlaw who has a failing farm and needs the money. He enlists the help of his friend, Ned Logan, played by Morgan Freeman, as well as a rather green cowboy who goes by the name of “the Schofield Kid”.
Well, unlike Munny, who still has the heart of a killer, Ned doesn’t, and he’s conflicted about coming back into the field. In one pivotal moment, he shows he can no longer kill a man, as he truly did leave that life behind. And, I just love how three dimensional his character is. Ned is a man who wants to help – both the sex workers, as well as his old riding buddy – but he really struggles because he feels like he can’t anymore.
Unfortunately, Logan comes up against the villainous Little Bill (who is definitely a cop who doesn’t follow the rules), and his story is a tragic one. But, it’s also memorable in a genre that doesn’t always have memorable performances for Black actors.
Cuffee (Danielle Deadwyler) - The Harder They Fall
In this predominantly Black western directed by Jeymes Samuel, a cowboy named Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) seeks vengeance against a terrifying outlaw named Rufus Buck (Idris Elba). As a plus, basically all of the principle characters are based off of real people, so this story doubles as historical fiction.
With a cast as stacked as this one, I literally could have picked any of the characters, but I’m choosing Cuffee, played by Danielle Deadwyler, since she’s the most fascinating to me.
Based on the real Cathay Williams, who was the first (and ostensibly only) woman to serve in the U.S. Army during the American Frontier Wars (she posed as a man), Cuffee is interesting because she is probably the best shooter out of the bunch of sharpshooters. Hers is a tale of being both underestimated, but also feared, for her proficiency with a firearm.
My favorite moment is when she squares up against Cherokee Bill (Lakeith Stanfield), since it has all the hallmarks of a battle for the quickest hand. Honestly, I wish there were more excellent roles for Black women in westerns. We don’t get nearly enough of them. Speaking of which…
Moses “Mo” Washington (Letitia Wright) - Surrounded
In a post-Civil War America, Mo Washington (Letitia Wright) is a free woman looking for gold. But, due to unforeseen circumstances, Washington has to stay with an outlaw (Jamie Bell) as others go out for help after her stagecoach was attacked.
Wright, who I first learned about through Black Panther, is an indomitable force in this movie. You know she’s tough since she plays a former Buffalo Soldier, but her toughness is put to the test when dealing with Jamie Bell’s character, who offers a pretty ostentatious performance.
But, Mo plays it cool. As a Black woman, there are many who don’t take her seriously. That is until she whips out her pistols and makes them take her seriously.
Much like Cuffee in the last entry, Mo understands that she’s underestimated, which is why it’s all the more satisfying when she puts ignorant men in their place.
Buck (Sidney Poitier) - Buck And The Preacher
In this exciting western, which was also Poitier’s directorial debut, he plays a former soldier named Buck who helps get other Black people across the country through indigenous territory. Buck has struck a sort of agreement with the indigenous people, which comes in handy later when white bounty hunters try to get Buck to stop his work. It all culminates in an exciting conclusion.
Buck and the Preacher is a really fun film, and I regret that I didn’t mention it in my list of Sidney Poitier’s best movies after he passed. Also starring Harry Belafonte as the “Preacher” (I put it in quotes since he’s not really a preacher), and Ruby Dee as Buck’s wife, the film is action-packed and humorous in all the best ways.
One thing I love about Buck is that he sticks to his guns and doesn’t run from his duties to help other African Americans. I also like that he always seems two steps ahead, and that he has formed a sort of kinship with the indigenous people, as they both find a common adversary who they can rally against.
There may be more recognizable Sidney Poitier movies, but when it comes to westerns featuring Black characters, Buck and the Preacher is certainly one of the best.
Daniel Holt (Jeffrey Wright) - Ride With The Devil
Ang Lee's Ride With the Devil is a western like no other.
Telling the story of the warring factions between the Jayhawks and the Bushwackers back in Civil War times, Ride With the Devil tells a complicated tale of white men killing each other.
So why, pray tell, is it on this list, then? Well, because of Jeffrey Wright's character, Daniel Holt, a former slave who is fighting on the Confederate side since his freedom was bought by his Southern friend.
This is definitely one of Jeffrey Wright's best roles because he plays such a complex character. And this is because he's not conflicted about which side he's chosen. He'd rather fight beside his friend than fight for his potential future, which is a unique perspective, to be sure.
Django Freeman (Jamie Foxx) - Django Unchained
In this revisionist western from Quentin Tarantino, a former slave (Jamie Foxx) is enlisted by a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to hunt down some suspects, only to eventually become a bounty hunter himself; unchained, as it were.
I like to watch Django Unchained during Black History Month, because it's just so satisfying to watch as a Black man.
Django goes from being shackled to shooting a plantation owner dead in his own mansion. What's not to love?
Django is a particularly fascinating character, though, since he flourishes so wonderfully. My favorite part is when he's decked out in that fancy blue outfit, and he kills a racist jerk with gusto. I mean, seriously. How cool can you possibly get?
Major Marquis Warren, "The Bounty Hunter" (Samuel L. Jackson) - The Hateful Eight
In yet another western by Tarantino (which was supposedly a sequel to Django Unchained before Tarantino scrapped the idea), a collective of people with different motives are stuck in a cabin together during a snowy winter day. Violence ensues.
Some might say that Tarantino did Jackson dirty in Django by making him an Uncle Tom-esque character, but if so, he did right by him in The Hateful Eight, where Jackson is arguably the coolest character in the movie.
Playing a bounty hunter this time around, Jackson manages to get one up on pretty much everybody he encounters. This makes an argument for Major Marquis Warren being one of the greatest characters in Jackson's lengthy career.
Not everybody adores The Hateful Eight when considering Tarantino's filmography, it's actually my second favorite movie of his (right after Pulp Fiction, of course), and Jackson's character is definitely the reason why.
For more news on any future westerns, be sure to swing by here often!
