Sentence:  Sponsor quotes John McLendon of the McLendon-Ebony station group as saying that the Southern Negro is <WSD>becoming</WSD> conscious of quality and and `` does not wish to be associated with radio which is any way degrading to his race ; he tends to shy away from the hooting and hollering personalities that originally made Negro radio programs famous '' . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  enter or assume a certain state or condition