An exhibit alongside the nation’s chief memorial to Thomas Jefferson will receive an update that reflects “the complexity” of his status as a founder of the United States and a slaveholder, according to stewards of the National Mall.

The decision reflects an acute awareness of the furor currently surrounding Confederate statues across the country. A non-profit group that provides critical support for the National Mall is bracing for similar protests against the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial, although “there has been much broader support for maintaining them,” as one official put it. But the Trust for the National Mall, which depends on private donors to fulfill its mission, is getting out in front of the uproar.