“This country was built by men in denim and will be destroyed by men in suits,” and “when the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace,” were some of the messages written on signs held by a handful of people protesting in front of the Bank of America building.

Wednesday, May 23, was the first day of the 5-day-long rally organized by Occupy Tampa in front of the downtown location of the giant world bank.

“We just wanted to reawaken the awareness in downtown,” said protester Tim Sommers.

Have you run into Occupy Tampa members during your trips into downtown? What do you think of the movement? Let us know in the comments section.

Occupy Tampa, which was born last October, moved from the sidewalk of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in downtown to a private lot in West Tampa last December. The lot, called Voice of Freedom Park, is located on West Main Street and is owned by strip club king Joe Redner.

Since establishing base in West Tampa, Sommers, 24, said that the group has been involved with neighborhood work, such as restoring an alleyway to create a community garden.

“I am trying to be the changes that I want to see in the world, I want people to realize that love is a lot more important than money and power,” said Sommers.

About 50 people were expected to join the group in downtown on Wednesday night, according to Sommers.

Occupy Tampa protesters have planned to sleep either on the sidewalk in front of the Bank of America building or on the sidewalk in front of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

Sommers said that the Occupy movement will not disappear until “we really see the changes going on in society to where there are enough people behind us who say ‘yeah, there is a better way, a greener way, a healthier way to live, and a better path towards happiness.'”