Black leadership has expanded, but with growing pains Troy Williams The racial and gender composition of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, the Fayetteville City Council and the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners look a lot different today than they did a few decades ago. The political landscape has changed considerably. Eight out of ten Fayetteville City Council members are African American, and six are female. Mitch Colvin, an African American, is in his second term as mayor. Several years ago, the city elected attorney Marshall Pitts Jr. as Fayetteville’s first Black mayor. He served two terms as well.