Texas War on Drugs Photo Archive, 1970s-90s

Archive documenting the War on Drugs in Texas from the 1970s to the early 1990s, primarily focusing on law enforcement operations and arrests. These images, sourced from the Houston Chronicle and Associated Press archives, vividly capture the racialized enforcement of drug laws, showing interactions between police and suspects—many of whom appear to be people of color. Archive of 9 original silver gelatin press photographs with captions on verso.

A powerful image, likely from the 1980s, shows an undercover officer pinning a young Black man outside of an apartment complex to the ground, forcefully holding his chest down while pointing into the (truncated) distance. This photograph exemplifies the racialized policing of the drug war, wherein Black and Latino men were disproportionately targeted and subjected to aggressive enforcement tactics. On verso, a caption reads "Operation Crackdown" - another photo which depicts a "crowd at service center made into booking desk" also bears this caption. This photo depicts a crowd of people, young and old, black and white, with zip tied hands behind their back surrounded by a large, dispersed group of law enforcement and a table full of paperwork. One particularly striking photograph from April 27, 1992, shows two Houston police officers seizing firearms and a bag of suspected narcotics atop a car in a dealership parking lot. A cameraman films the event while an onlooker in sunglasses watches. The reverse bears a Houston Chronicle assignment request detailing a dramatic high-speed chase that ended with a crash: "The Corvette apparently was chasing another car that hit a guardrail. The latter's five male passengers fled, three to an auto dealership. Moments later, the Corvette pulled into the dealership, and the driver began chasing the three men." The clipping confirms that police recovered "a bag of fake drugs and real guns." This suggests an element of theatricality in drug enforcement.

Another image captures the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) in 1979, a command center for U.S. drug enforcement operations. The caption describes it as the "control center of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso, Texas, Intelligence Center." This facility played a major role in border drug interdiction, disproportionately affecting Latino communities and fueling mass incarceration. Another photograph from December 12, 1990, depicts a drug raid in Houston involving the DEA, U.S. Customs, and the FBI. The reverse caption notes that "U.S. Customs use their dog named 'Magnum' to search the car and truck for drugs." There is a handwritten annotation: "Agents do not want names or faces used." Other photos depict the scale of the drug war: a 1974 image of DEA agents seizing a "huge marijuana cache" from a tugboat, and a 1975 Associated Press photo illustrating drug paraphernalia, including cocaine and heroin, captioned: "It is considered an 'IN' drug and is often served at fashionable parties." This language reflects the racial and class disparities in drug enforcement—where drug use among the wealthy was framed as a trend, while use among marginalized communities led to police crackdowns. Overall, this collection offers a stark visual narrative of the War on Drugs in Texas, highlighting its racialized impact, media spectacle, and militarized law enforcement tactics. The images and captions underscore how drug policy has not worked despite many efforts, while fueling mass incarceration. (Inventory #: 21602)