Following is a statement from the board of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia, which since 1935 has been dedicated to educating the public about the life, legacy, and vision of Abraham Lincoln:

“The Lincoln Memorial is Washington’s most visited monument, with more than eight million people a year coming to pay tribute to Abraham Lincoln, our nation’s greatest president. Even more will come as a new museum beneath the Memorial opens this summer.

The much-beloved Memorial is a monument to America’s unity and to the promise of equality for all. Any change to the Memorial, including the current administration’s proposal for a new pedestrian promenade and other unspecified changes, should only be undertaken after the widest possible public input and rigorous oversight by Congress.

This process should not be rushed and must be transparent. Abraham Lincoln belongs to all of us. The inscription behind his statue in the Memorial reads: “In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.”

Changes to the Memorial must not become yet another topic of division in an already sorely divided nation.

Photo from the National Park Service.