In MTG, does a swamp count as a black permanent?

Yes a swamp is a black permanent, but most cards say nonland, so don't worry about you mana supply going away anytime soon, unless they reprint stone rain or something. If you played back then, lands would say "Tap: you gain X in your mana pool" X being what color is added. And yes, it only contributes to generic, because it does not state specific mana. We always ume 1 is generic, unless it mentions converted mana cost, which would be the total amount of mana for the spell.