Alexa Canady
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The first Black neurosurgeon.
Alexa Canady was born in Michigan, and with her mother being an educator and father a dentist, she was taught about the importance of both education and hard work from an early age. She and her brother were the only African American students in their school and faced many prejudices. The instance of those with most notoriety happened when Canady’s family had her take an intelligence test. She scored highly on the exam, but this caused confusion because her performance in school did not match. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that her teacher had been switching her work with that of a white student. In the face of adversities though, Canady excelled. When she was just 17, she was nominated as a National Achievement Scholar – a program established just 4 years prior to encourage African American youth to continue their education.
“Let them make you the token — so what if you’re the token black girl. Take that token and spend it.” – Elizabeth Hortense Canady (Alexa’s mother)
Attending the University of Michigan, Canady received her bachelor’s degree in Zoology, then going for her medical degree, graduating with cum laude honors. Early in her studies at university, Canady had fallen in love with neurology and chose to pursue it – against the recommendations of her advisors and knowing all too well how difficult it would be to get a residency as a Black woman.
