A proposal to name a North Carolina post office after poet Maya Angelou received a "no" vote from Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, who questioned if the late author merited the honor.

Brooks and eight other Republicans voted against the resolution to rename a post office in Winston-Salem after Angelou, a Missouri native who spent much of her life in North Carolina. Angelou died in 2014.

Brooks said he opposed the proposal due to Angelou's support of communism, particularly her backing of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

"While Maya Angelou did many good things in her life, Congressman Mo Brooks did not believe it appropriate to name an American Post Office after a communist sympathizer and thereby honor a person who openly opposed America's interest by supporting Fidel Castro and his regime of civil rights suppression, torture and murder of freedom-loving Cubans," Brooks' spokesperson Lauren Vandiver told AL.com.

Angelou's support of Cuba was cited by several of the other lawmakers who voted against the post office proposal. Others voting no included Ken Buck of Colorado, Michael Burgess of Texas, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Andy Harris of Maryland, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, and Steven Palazzo of Mississippi. Rep. Don Young of Alaska voted present.

The bill to rename the post office in her honor passed 371-9.

Angelou, best known for her book "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," was awarded America's Medal of Freedom in 2011 and has been honored by having her image on a postage stamp. She authored more than 30 books and was involved in civil rights efforts throughout her life.

Rep. Steve Israel, D-NY, issued a statement saying he was "shocked" by the vote.

"Naming post offices is one of the most benign and bipartisan duties we perform in the House of Representatives, and there is rarely any opposition," Israel said. "The fact that these nine members would cast a no vote shows a blatant disrespect and only adds to the damaging actions they've taken this year to reverse progress from long and hard fought civil rights battles."