Buck and the Preacher is a 1972 American Western film released by Columbia Pictures, written by Ernest Kinoy and directed by Sidney Poitier.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times said Poitier "showed a talent for easy, unguarded, rambunctious humor missing from his more stately movies".

The notable blues musicians Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Don Frank Brooks performed in the film's soundtrack, composed by jazz great Benny Carter.

However, Poitier fired him after a few days of shooting, noting that Sargent's approach lacked "important ethnic qualities" that would allow "black people and minorities in general to find in Buck and the Preacher a certain substance, a certain nourishment, a certain complement of the self.

[12] Following the Civil War, around 1879, African Americans in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee fled to Kansas seeking work and new lives away from the South.

These migrants are known as “Exodusters.” [13] While there was work for them in the South and slavery had technically ended, the powerful white leaders of Southern states did all they could to prevent African Americans from owning land.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Buck and the Preacher holds a rating of 84% from 43 reviews with the consensus: "Sidney Poitier's directorial debut may be more steady than inspired, but Harry Belafonte's live-wire performance and a Black perspective on classic Western tropes make for a refreshing addition to the genre.

In fact, some alleged that the poor financial reception resulted in Poitier losing a film deal with Columbia Pictures.

[8] The initial lackluster response from audiences may have been caused by how different Buck is than typical Blaxploitation heroes such as Shaft and Coffy who live in contemporary society.

Additionally, the fact that white heroes were typically the centerpieces of American westerns may have also contributed to the foreignness of the film to its target audience.

[19] In Philip Powers 2020 book "Sidney Poitier Black and White" he devoted a chapter to the making of Buck and the Preacher illustrating the fact that the film was far from the financial flop some have claimed, drawing millions of Americans to buy a ticket to see it in theatres.

While Poitier's "direction of Buck and the Preacher received mixed reviews... [it was] due to the fact that most film critics and reviewers in 1972 didn’t have a basic understanding of what a director does, from pre-production through to the end of post-production – and unfortunately it remains as true today as it was then – the comments about Poitier’s effort as a first-time director are interesting for their historical context more than their perspicacity.