President Barack Obama is fond of quoting the Rev. Martin Luther King’s statement that “the arc of history bends toward justice.” Human nature being what it is, we too often focus on short-term problems and overlook the substantial progress that took decades. We are appalled by the racist backlash that has emerged in the wake of the election, and forget what a huge step the election of an African-American president represented.

Similarly, it’s hard to miss daily reports of anti-gay bias. (Last week, for example, Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen refused to defend a new state law that granted same-sex couples spousal benefits like hospital visits and inheritance, despite the fact that state attorneys general are legally obligated to defend their legislatures’ duly-enacted statutes whether they agree with them or not. As a result, Wisconsin taxpayers will end up paying outside counsel to defend the legislation — paying, in essence, for Van Hollen’s homophobia.) But reminders of substantial and persistent anti-gay bias shouldn’t obscure the incredible progress that has been made.

I thought about that progress when I received my invitation to Lambda Legal’s annual Indianapolis dinner. Lambda is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men and transgender people through litigation, public education and public policy work.

Ten years ago, Indianapolis inaugurated an annual dinner to raise funds for the organization.

I attended the first dinner, and I’ve gone to nearly every one since. The evolution has been nothing short of stunning.

That first year was considered wildly successful, with more than 200 people in attendance. Most were members of the gay community, with a few of us civil-rights types thrown in. At a time when substantial numbers of gays were still closeted, and gay-friendly public officials were rare — a time when lesbians and gays risked their jobs and families just by coming out — the turnout was gratifying.

By contrast, attendance has topped 500 for at least the past three or four years, and you can barely walk without stumbling over a politician or elected official — Republican and Democrat alike. The program contains written greetings from the governor and mayor. Underwriters and sponsors include the city’s largest law firms and companies. Attendance is a veritable “who’s who” of Central Indiana.

It is still legal in Indiana to fire people simply because they are gay. And it still happens, but not nearly as often as it used to. As a result, fewer lesbians and gays are cowering in the back of the closet. The hurtful and inaccurate stereotypes are rarer, too, as most Americans now realize that they know gay people, and have come to recognize that the gay community is as diverse as any other. Increasingly, openly gay individuals are elected to public office, even in the socially conservative South.

Nirvana isn’t here. Not for African-Americans, not for gays, not for Jews (who have seen a recent uptick in anti-Semitism.) But that arc is bending in the right direction.