She has held directing roles for television and theater productions such as Holler if Ya Hear Me, The Wiz Live!, and the 2014 revival of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun.

[1] In 2000, Forbes wrote and directed Rhyme Deferred, a play that used a mythic fairy tale format to explore the existential nature of hip-hop.

[8] Forbes was one of 300 signatories of a public letter directed at addressing systemic racism in American theater, along with others such as Sandra Oh, Sterling K. Brown, and Viola Davis.

She produced the HBO television series Def Poetry Jam (2002) and Brave New Voices, PBS's The Women's List,[2] and was associate director for NBC's The Wiz Live!

[13] On June 23, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Forbes to be a member of the National Council of the Arts.